Biography

Rachel Hutchinson is a Textile Artist from County Antrim based at Blick Shared Studios on the Malone Road, Belfast. Following her 1^st class Textile Crafts degree in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire in 2003, she moved on to become ‘Product Development Executive’ for a leading homewares company in Manchester before returning to Belfast to start her own business in 2006. Rachel has exhibited in a variety of galleries in Belfast, London, Reading, Halifax and Brighton and has received a number of awards for her artwork. Recently she produced the Major Textile commission for the Ulster Hospital maternity unit, and is now creating an installation piece for Windsor Woman’s Centre, funded by ‘Arts & Business’ and Stratagem. Click here to view visual diary of Arts & Business work.

Statement

Layering textures, I combine vintage fabrics, papers and paints with detailed stitchwork. I use hand-embroidered mending and traditional patchwork techniques in combination with contemporary compositions which serve as decorative pieces of artwork, while suggesting an undercurrent of contained history, narrative and identity.