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Alice Kettle Honorary Fellow

Stitched & Constructed Textiles

About Alice
“Alice Kettle is a contemporary textile/fibre artist based in the UK. She has established a unique area of practice by her use of a craft medium, consistently and on an unparalleled scale. The scale of her work belies their component parts: individual tiny stitches, which combine to form great swathes of colour, painterly backgrounds incorporating rich hues and metallic sheen.” Sara Roberts. She trained as a painter, and has work represented in many international collections.
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Biography Back to top

Alice Kettle is a contemporary textile/fibre artist based in the UK. She has established a unique area of practice by her use of a craft medium, consistently and on an unparalleled scale.

Her stitched works, many the size of huge figurative tapestries, exploit the textures and effects made possible through the harnessing of a mechanical process to intuitive and creative ends.

She is currently a Professor in Textile Arts in MIRIAD Manchester School of Art at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Her work is represented in various public collections such as the Crafts Council London, the Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester, the Museo Internationale delle Arti Applicate Oggi, Turin, Italy. Commissions include the National Library of Australia, the Scottish High Court in Edinburgh, Gloucester and Winchester Cathedrals and the School of Music & Drama at Manchester University.

Resumé Back to top

Professor of Textile Arts, Manchester School of Art, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK

Honorary Professor Centre for Real World Learning, University of Winchester

Fellow of the Royal Society of Designer Craftsmen

Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts Honorary

Member of the ’62 Group of Artists

Panel Member CraftNet


Public Collections

Liverpool International Slavery Museum

Museum of Decorative Art and Design, Riga, Latvia

Ararat Art Gallery, Victoria, Australia

Belger Collection, Kansas City USA

Hove Museum & Art Gallery

Portsmouth City Art Gallery

The Otter Art Gallery, University College Chichester

The Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester

Crafts Council of Great Britain

The Embroiderers’ Guild

St Mary’s College, Baltimore, USA

The Prudential Collection

The Broadgate Club, London.

Hampshire Museums Service

Calderdale MBC: Museums and Arts

The Embroiderers’ Guild, NSW, Australia

Museo Internationale delle Arti Applicate Oggi, Turin, Italy

Manchester City Art Gallery, (ceramic collaboration with Alex McErlain)

Special Collections Gallery, Manchester Metropolitan University (ceramic collaboration with Alex McErlain)

Platt Hall Gallery of Costume. Manchester

York Castle Museum Gallery (ceramic collaboration with Alex McErlain)

Shipley Art Gallery, Gateshead


Selected Exhibitions

2017

Good Nature, Candida Stevens Gallery, Chichester

Ink and Blood, 10th Anniversary of Slavery Museum, Liverpool International Slavery Museum

Drawn Thread, Australia National University, Canberra , Australia

Textile Biennale, Rijswick Museum, The Netherlands

Made In Translation, The Portico Library, Manchester exhibitor and curator (catalogue)

Alice Kettle Threads, Thread Bearing Witness, Winchester Discovery Centre

Alice Kettle: More Threads, Candida Stevens Gallery, Chichester (monograph)

2016

Drawing Inspirations, Gallery in the Bay, Cardiff (catalogue)

The Scalloped Edge, Alice Kettle, solo, Galerios dos Prazeros, Madeira Island (catalogue) Icon, Candida Stevens Gallery, Chichester (catalogue)

Korea Bojagi Forum, SIMA (Suwon, Park Museum of Art, Soeul, South Korea (catalogue)

Painting into Textiles, inspired by Michael Kidner, Flowers Gallery, London (catalogue)

Chemins Croises, World Crafts Council, Mons, Belgium (catalogue)

Academic Choice, Crafts Study Centre , UCA Farnham (catalogue)

The Story In Art, Candida Stevens Gallery, Chichester (catalogue)

2015

Slipware, Crafts Study Centre , UCA Farnham (catalogue)

Here and Now, Circus performance Alice Kettle, Circus and CAA Gallery, London

Slipstitch Ararat regional Art Gallery, Australia and tour (catalogue)

Collect with Contemporary Applied Arts, Saatchi Gallery London

VAS:t, Scottish Royal Society of Arts, invited artist

2014

A Place at the Table, Pallant House Gallery, Chichester (exhibitor and curator)

Alice Kettle Odyssey, Pallant House Gallery, Chichester

Out of Sight, Contemporary Applied Arts London

The Fire and the Rose, ATM Festival Manchester

Fourteeen, the artists’ response, Llantarnum Grange

Craft Now, Shipley Art Gallery, Gateshead

Collect with Contemporary Applied Arts, Saatchi Gallery London (work purchased for Shipley Art Gallery)

Unravelling Uppark, with Helen Felcey

Design Shanghai, with Contemporary Applied Arts

Invitation Honore, L’Aiguille en Fete, Paris

2013

The Garden of England, solo show The Queens House, The National Maritime Museum Greenwich London http://www.rmg.co.uk/queens-ho... days in the City, Winchester Cathedral, Collaboration with Stephen Cooper

Scratch, Scribble, Scrawl, Aspex Gallery, Portsmouth

Seamless, Museum of Art, Llubjana

Allotment, Manchester School of Art, RHS Tatton Park, Highly Commended

Material Responses, Rashnagar Mill, Ahemedebad India

Fix, Fix, Fix, Gallery So London

Pairings, Contemporary Applied Arts, exhibitor and curator

2012

Alice Kettle, solo show ANU School of Art, Australia

The Shape of Touch, solo show Merston Gallery

Make Believe Make, Portsmouth City Art Gallery, curated by Aspex Gallery

European Prize for Applied Arts, 14 July – 9 September 2012

Holden Gallery MMU 16.7.2012 – 17.8.2012 http://www.62group.org.uk
C... Exchange project, Global Threads, Queens Mill Burnley Lancs

Pairings II conversations and collaborations Stroud International Textile Festival

Pairings exhibition, The Museum in the Park, Stroud 28.4.2012 – 27.5.2012 exhibitor and curator

Loss, Chichester Cathedral with Jules Findley

2011

For some must watch, while some must sleep: So runs the world away, Belger Arts Centre, Kansas City USA

10 Days in the City, Cirrus Nebulus with Lydia Southwell, Theatre Royal Winchester

The Drawn Line, Extending the Line, Holden Gallery Manchester, Asian Triennale Manchester Festival

Ahmedebad International Arts Festival, India

CAA Present Collectables

KAUNAS BIENNIAL TEXTILE’11 Rewind-Play-Forward, Lithuania (catalogue)

7th International Triennale of Tournai, 5 continents, Woven World, Belgium (catalogue)

Circus, CAA London

Lost Certainty, 2 person show with Claire Curneen, CAA London

2010

Telling Fortunes, solo show Platt Hall, Museum of Costume, Manchester (catalogue) (Work acquired for permanent collection)

The Manchester Gallery, Manchester City Art Gallery

Honest Pots, York Art Gallery with Alex McErlain

Machine Stitch Perspectives, Knitting and Stitching Show Alexandra Place, Dublin, Harrogate

The Narrative Line 2 person show with Bernie Leahy, The National Gallery, Crafts Council of Ireland, Kilkenny, the Island Arts Centre Lisburn N Ireland (catalogue)

Collecting Stitches, Forge Needle Museum, Redditch

4th Riga International Textile and Fibre Art Triennal, Global Intrigue, Museum of Decorative Art and Design, Latvia (catalogue) Work acquired for permanent collection

Pairings, exhibitor and curator Special Collections Manchester Metropolitan University and tour (catalogue)

Power of Copying-2010 ‘ International Contemporary Design from Selected Art Academies’ Xuzhou

Museum of Art, China. 14th May – 14th July 2010. (Catalogue)

Bending More Lines 62group Rijswijk Museum, The Netherlands, The CoIIins GaIIery, GIasgow

Affordable Art Fair, represented by Murphy Machin Art

Not So Fast, the Octagon, Bath (catalogue)

Artefact, Platform gallery, Clitheroe

Re-Imagining, Treasures of Hyde Abbey, Link Gallery Winchester (catalogue)

2009-10

European Prize for Applied Arts, World Crafts Council, juried exhibition, Brussels (catalogue)

EUNIQUE 2010 – International Fair for Applied Arts & Design in Karlsruhe / Germany

Allegory Craft Study Centre, Farnham and tour solo show (catalogue)

Dorchester Museum; The Gallery in the Bay Cardiff; Farfield Mill Sedburgh; The Willis Museum Basingstoke

A Pause in the Rhythm of Time, solos show Belger Arts Centre, Kansas City, Surface Design Association, USA (Work acquired for permanent collection)

Lets Travel, Pfaff international juried exhibition, Special Commendation. Alexandra Palace London, Bibliotheque Forni, Paris. Museum de Kantfabriek Horst, The Netherlands (catalogue)

Florence Biennale, Firenze, Italy (catalogue)

Northern Art Show, represented by Murphy Machin Art, Harrogate International centre

Clay and Thread, Place Settings with Helen Felcey, Talking Matters with Alex McErlain, Knitting and

Stitching Show, Alexandra Palace and Harrogate International Centre

CAA, London

Collect, represented by the Flow Gallery, Saatchi Gallery, London (catalogue)

2008

Crafted, Winchester Discovery Centre, Winchester

Reflective Stories, Holden Gallery Manchester

Great Northern Contemporary Craft Show, Manchester

Art In Action, Waterperry Oxford

Place Settings, Helen Felcey, Alice Kettle, Special Collections, MMU

Fabricate, Rye Museum and Art Gallery

Art of the Stitch, City Art Gallery Birmingham, European tour(catalogue)

The Fabric of Myth, Compton Verney (catalogue)

Select, Grace Barrand Design Centre

2007

China show, MMU (catalogue)

Drumcroon Gallery , Wigan

Mechanical drawing, Schiffli project, Holden Gallery MMU and tour (catalogue)

Slavery Blue coat Display Centre, Liverpool (catalogue)

Inspired, Grace Barrand Design Centre

Collect, Victoria and Albert Museum, with Grace Barrand Design Centre (catalogue)

2006

Artefact, All Saints Building MMU

Alice Kettle, solo show Salisbury Arts Centre

MMU showcase, Manchester

SOFA , Chicago with Blue Coat Display Centre(catalogue)

Art In Action, Waterperry House, Oxfordshire

Select, Grace Barrand Design Centre

Art of the Stitch, RWA Gallery, Bristol, The Hub Sleaford, Williamson Art Gallery and Museum

Birkenhead, tour (catalogue)

2005

Applied Art in Architecture, Bluecoat Display Centre, Liverpool

Inspired to Stitch: 21 Textile Artists, Knitting And Stitching Show, London (book)

International Art Embroidery Challenge, Pfaff, 1st Prize winner, juried exhibition, Knitting and Stitching Show, London, Châtelaudren, France, Jönköpings Läns Museum, Sweden (catalogue)

Celebrating 30 Years, Crafts Council Show, V&A Museum, London (catalogue)

Art Loan Collection, Link Gallery Exhibition, University of Winchester (catalogue)

Collect, represented by Contemporary Applied Arts, V&A Museum (catalogue)

2004-5

Art Embroidery, Alexandra Palace, London, Musee du Textile_Parc de Wesserling France (catalogue)

Collect, represented by FibreArts Gallery, V&A Museum (catalogue)

2003

Mythscapes : Bankfield Museum, Halifax; (catalogue)

mac, Birmingham; The Gallery, Ruthin Craft Centre; Southampton City Art Gallery; Hove Museum and Art Gallery; Brewery Arts, Kendal; South Hill Park, Bracknell; Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museum; Grace Barrand Design Centre ,Surrey, Myles Meehan Gallery, Darlington; Harley Gallery, Worksop

Prism, Opus School of Textiles, Mall Galleries, London

Masterpieces, International exhibition, Palazzo Bricherasio, Turin, Italy (catalogue)

2002-5

Hand to Eye, consortium of Making it Work, The Winchester Gallery and Southern Arts Visual Index Projects, touring exhibition; (catalogue)

62 Group Retrospective, The Knitting and Stitching Show, London, Dublin, Harrogate

Alice Kettle, solo show, Newbury Spring Festival

2001

Goldsmiths’ Retrospective: The Knitting and Stitching Show, London, Dublin and Harrogate

2000

5th In Our Hands International competition, Kyoto, Japan (catalogue)

The Unexpected, Fairfield City Museum and Stein Gallery, Sydney

1997 & 99

Art of the Stitch, Barbican Centre, London (tour) (catalogue)

1998

Knot as They Seam, Maryland Art Place, Baltimore, USA (catalogue)

Cloths of Gold, Contemporary Applied Arts 50th Anniversary Exhibition

Stitch, Bury St Edmunds Art Gallery

The Otter Art Gallery, University College Chichester

1997

UK Now, Melbourne, Australia

1996

William Morris Revisited, Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, touring exhibition (catalogue)

Crafts Council, London; Birmingham City Museum and Art Gallery

Hipòtesi Gallery, Barcelona

Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh

1995

Art in Action, Waterperry House, Oxford (catalogue)

1995/93/92 Decorative Arts Today, Bonhams, London

Quarry Bank Mill, Styal

1994

Decorative Arts Today, Bonhams, London (catalogue)

Northguild Gallery Shop, Southampton Civic Centre

Oxford Gallery, with Louise Baldwin

Summer Show, Contemporary Applied Arts

Visions of Craft, Highlights from the Crafts Council Collection

1993/91/89/87

Chelsea Crafts Fair, London

Figurative Embroidered Textiles, City Gallery, Leicester

Summer Show, Contemporary Applied Arts

Money and Art, The Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester

1992

Out of the Frame, Crafts Council, London, touring exhibition; (catalogue)

Aberystwyth Arts Centre; Plymouth City Museum; Wakefield Art Gallery; Peter Scott Gallery, Lancaster

Contemporary Textile Gallery

62 Group Exhibition, Hankyu Dept Stores, Osaka, Japan

1991

Can’t Stop Me Now! Crafts Council, London, (tour)

Alice Kettle, solo show Galerie Filambule, Lausanne, Switzerland

Favourite Things, Crafts Council Gallery, London

1990

Stitched Textiles – a Celebration, Embroiderers’ Guild Exhibition, Commonwealth Institute, London

My Eyes, Your Hands, solo show Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal

Alice Kettle, solo show Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh

Cross Threads, Bradford Textiles Festival (tour)

1988

Tex-styles, Smiths Gallery, London

Alice Kettle – Showcase, solo show ICA, London

Alice Kettle, solo show Oxford Gallery

1987

Stitchery International, Pittsburgh, USA

Alice Kettle Painting and Textiles, solo show Oxford Gallery

1986

Stitched Textiles for Interiors, RIBA Gallery, London

Contemporary Textile Gallery, London

Alice Kettle, solo show Oxford Gallery


Awards

2014 Outstanding Innovation in Research and Knowledge Exchange, Manchester Metropolitan University Staff Awards; Highly Commended

2011 Artsway Associate Maker

2010 Design Award 2010 Public Art Award, Looking Forwards to the Past, City of Winchester Trust

2010 Design Award 2010 Public Art Award, Wisdom und Lor, City of Winchester Trust

2009 Public Library Associations of Britain and Ireland, the best public library building in 2009. http://www.cilip.org.uk/specialinterestgroups/bysubject/public/awards; The Discovery Centre, Winchester

2008 The Discovery Centre, Winchester, RIBA Award

2006 Textile Artist of the Year Award, Creative Exhibitions

2005 International Art Embroidery Challenge, Pfaff, 1st Prize winner

1999 Kreinik Award

1999 Bernina Award

1993 Cosmopolitan achievement awards (special commendation in Creative Arts)

1991 British Council Award

1988 Taittinger Prize

Other Makers in Stitched & Constructed Textiles