22nd international exhibition of textile miniatures - BUBBLE
Stone Hall of the Umelka Gallery, Bratislava, SL
23.11.2022 - 11.12.2022

The 22nd international exhibition of textile miniatures on the theme of BUBBLE was opened on 23 November 2022 in the Stone Hall of the Umelka Gallery in Bratislava. 111 professionals and 20 students from Slovakia and European countries, as well as Japan, South Korea, the USA and Mexico, have shown an interest in participating in the exhibition. The exhibition presented the works of 57 artists and 10 students selected by an international jury.

The choice of the theme BUBBLE resulted from the circumstances that significantly affected the life around the world as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Social life and interpersonal activities have been dampened by quarantine measures, and the word bubble has been used as one of the possible ways of life amids the pandemic. The artists responded to the theme individually – the bubble was rendered as a closed social structure with specific interactions, tension or balance that protects, but also weakens, as a space outside the bubble and environmental threats, or revealed the symbolic potential of the bubble as a direct manifestation of natural or technological processes. The criteria for the selection have been applied to the perception of the idea, the original expression of the theme and the quality of craftsmanship of the work with the maximum dimensions of 20 x 20 x 20 cm. Textile techniques or materials, but also overlaps with other art disciplines were the starting point for the artists‘ works.

International jury and awards. The jury consisted of Raija Jokinen (artist, FI), Lala de Dios, (artist, SP), Erika Gregušová (artist and president of the TXT association, SK), Adriena Pekárová (theorist, SK), Prof. Miroslav Brooš (artist, AU Banská Bystrica, SK). The collection of works for the exhibition is based on the applications and photodocumentation selected by the jury.

From the history of previous editions. The first exhibition of Slovak textile artists took place in 1998, and since 2000 the event has gained international prestige. The theme of Celebrations marked its 20th anniversary in 2018. In that year, annual exhibitions changed to biennial events held every two years. Miracle was the theme of the exhibition in 2020, but it was not held due to the pandemic. A partial compensation was granted when the catalogue was published and the textile miniatures were exhibited, made exclusively by Slovak artists.

Textile miniatures today and tomorrow. The development of textile miniatures began in the 1970s. It turned out that the small works of art, their scale fixed at 20 x 20 x 20 cm, are considerably limited in size, but at the same time they are also an inspiring challenge to experiment with techniques and depict current ideas. The artists work with various traditional textile techniques of weaving, embroidery, bobbin lace work, knitting, collage and assemblage, but they also draw on fibre relationships and other artistic disciplines. Textile miniatures have achieved the position as an independent field in the spectrum of textile art. There are regular events and exhibitions at present, the most famous being the exhibitions in Como, Italy, or in Montrouge, France.

In more than 20 years, the Bratislava exhibitions have achieved an excellent reputation among a wide range of textile artists on an international scale, and gained favour of art lovers. Their organiser, TXT Association, disseminates information about the exhibition through the international association ETN – European Textile Network.