Janet Echelman: Radical Softness

Janet Echelman: Radical Softness is a mid-career retrospective examining the artist's four-decade evolution from early drawings and paintings through mixed-media works, maquettes, and monumental net sculptures. The exhibition offers an intimate look at how Echelman's practice has shifted from small-scale textile experiments to massive urban installations that merge ancient fishing-net knotting techniques with computational design software and materials ranging from atomized water to engineered fiber stronger than steel. Her works are described as vessels for storytelling and empathy, creating spaces for contemplation that transform from objects to be looked at into environments to get lost in. This exhibition anchors a multi-site initiative that includes satellite installations at American University and the Buchanan Gallery at George Mason University, and it is organized by Studio Echelman as a traveling exhibition.

When: September 17, 2026.

Venue: Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art.

Exhibition content: The retrospective brings together early drawings, paintings, mixed media works, maquettes, and full-size net sculptures spanning four decades of Echelman’s career, along with context on her use of unconventional materials and her intersections with architecture, urban design, material science, and engineering.

Additional sites: The exhibition is part of a multi-site initiative with satellite installations at American University and the Buchanan Gallery at George Mason University.

Tickets: Price not available.

Support: This exhibition is generously supported in part by Nedra & Peter Agnew, Leila Gordon, Joe Koszarek, A. Borisenko & K. Matthew, and Lake Thoreau Entertainment Association.