Lara Rabinowitz, Textiles, Art & Design
I explore how everyday objects make us who we are. My background in textiles and anthropology informs my work.
I am an interdisciplinary artist and textile designer with a preference for technology-driven fiber and material art. Through weaving, quilting, and soft sculpting, I assemble pieces that invite the viewer to consider objects. My art explores themes of bodily connection, place, memory, preservation and decay.
Often, I turn to the ideas and theories of anthropologists as a way of making sense of the material world. Questions I like to ask are: How do the objects we are surrounded by shape us? How do objects create energy, purpose, and change? What meanings are generated during the life cycle of an object? How do natural materials reinforce the body’s connection to the environment? And what is the relationship between the human body, textiles and the natural world?
Education
2024 - 2026
California College of the Arts
MFA, Fine Arts
2018 - 2022
North Carolina State University
BS, Fashion & Textile Design, Textile Design Concentration
BA, Anthropology
2021
North Carolina State University European Center in Prague
Spring Semester
2019
Archaeological Field School, Makounta-Voules Archaeological Project, Polis Chrysochous, Cyprus
Summer Session
2017
Study Abroad, CIEE, Toulouse France (college credit Tulane University)
Summer Session
Awards
2024 - 2026
2024 - 2025
2022
2021 - 2022
2021
2021
2020 - 2021
2020
2019
2019
2019
2019 - 2022
Fine Arts Scholarship, California College of the Arts, San Francisco, CA
CCA Scholarship, California College of the Arts, San Francisco, CA
Outstanding Textile Design Student Award, NC State Wilson College of Textiles, Raleigh, NC
Undergraduate Research Award, NC State University, Raleigh, NC
"Something on the Way to Becoming Something Else: The Agency of Objects in Textile Making
and Memory Preservation”
John M. Reeves Award (graduation award), NC State Wilson College of Textiles, Raleigh, NC
Textiles Study Abroad Scholarship (Prague), NC State Wilson College of Textiles, Raleigh, NC
Undergraduate Research Award, NC State University, Raleigh, NC
“Artifact-led textile design at The Textile Heritage Museum, Burlington, North Carolina”
WithIt scholarship and mentoring (home furnishings industry), High Point, NC
Jacques Weber International Study Award (archeological field school), NC State University,
Raleigh, NC
Mansour Global Engagement Award (archeological field school), NC State University,
Raleigh, NC
Undergraduate Research Award, NC State University, Raleigh, NC
“Integrating The William H. Harriss Collection of Modern Fabrics into the Textile Archive
Design Application.”
Provost’s Professional Experience Program research funding, NC State University,
Raleigh, NC
2018 - 2022
North Carolina Textile Foundation Merit Scholarships, Raleigh, NC
(Garry Morrison · Erlanger Merit · Patrick Palmer Memorial)
2018 - 2022
Scholarships:
North Carolina State University Wilson College of Textiles, Raleigh, NC
(Eli Whitney Textile · VF · Tompkins Textile Student Council)
2018 - 2022
Scholarships:
North Carolina State University College of Humanities & Social Sciences, Raleigh, NC
(Dr. Reginald W. Ponder · Mary L. Walek)
Exhibitions
Group
2025
2024
2023
2022
2022
2019
CCA MFA First Year Exhibition: For the Time Being, Institute of Contemporary Art, San Francisco, CA
Pop-Up Show: Alter//Altar, California College of the Arts MFA Student Exhibition, Oakland, CA
Handweavers Guild of Boulder, Juried Showcase Exhibit – Theme: To Everything There is a Season, Boulder, CO
Digital Weaving Norway, work highlighted on online newsletter
North Carolina State Wilson College of Textiles Emerging Designers Showcase, Raleigh, NC
ITA Showtime Fiber to Fabric for Home Furnishings Juried Student Exhibit, High Point Market, High Point, NC
