Brooke Erin Goldstein, "Reverberations" Photo by Virginia Harold

Artist Statement:
As a textile artist, I use our human connection with fabric and repeating pattern to engross the viewer in an emotional experience. From the moment we are born our relationship with textiles begins. Color, texture and repeating patterns not only cover us but surround us. Fibers are the supporting players of our memories and daily actions. Using fiber and surface design to provide immersive, sensory rich, discovery based artistic encounters to people of all ages and backgrounds is what inspires me to create.
My work incorporates a variety of techniques such as quilting, fabric painting, digital and block printing, and surface design based drawing. The presentation of my work often manifests into immersive and/or interactive quilted room installations, narrative based wall pieces, small sculptures and large public art pieces. Conceptually, I explore ideas of community, childhood, relationships, communication, thought, feelings, and home. Mainly, I focus on creating a visual for the complex emotions we experience on our journey through life. I believe allowing us to “see” how we “feel” helps us as individuals and as a society to create a greater understanding of the universal human experience.
My work is designed to promote empathy. I do not use shock value in my art, even when I’m making pieces that deal with difficult subject matter. I use advanced color theory to establish a friendly invitation to the viewer as they approach each piece. I encourage viewers to project their own narrative onto the experience. I use methods of deliberate imperfection in every piece I create. This practice stems from my cultural and religious heritage, as well as, my study of other cultural groups' craft traditions. This commitment keeps the form human and vulnerable. The presentation is powerful and the finish is beautifully flawed. My work is a love letter to the inner child in all of us. Especially those that may feel alone in this difficult world. I want people to know that they matter and are valuable. That is my aim and calling in all of my artistic and creative endeavors.

Bio:
Brooke Erin Goldstein is a textile artist, curator, and teaching artist living and working in the Providence RI area. She began taking art and sewing classes at the age of 3 because she refused to leave when her older sister was being dropped off. She learned machine sewing at 6 from the most lovable chain smoking Italian seamstress Carmella, who let Goldstein experiment on an industrial sewing machine while Italian soap operas played in the background. Goldstein fell in love with quilting at sleep away camp at 10.
Since then she’s spent her time graduating RISD in Textiles, designing for Reebok including projects for the NFL, MLB, NHL, WMBA, and the Super Bowl, then leaving all that behind to focus on creating art experiences that aim to make people feel less alone. Goldstein’s Quilted Room installations, quilted paintings, artist books, surface design based drawings, public art stuff, sculptures, curatorial projects, and miscellaneous etc. have shown regionally and nationally since 2003. Her current passion, outside of making art, is teaching anti-capitalist personal finance to artists, activists, and others helping make their lives sustainable in a system that sets us up to fail.