Janet Echelman: Radical Softness
Janet Echelman: Radical Softness is a mid-career retrospective spanning approximately four decades of the artist’s work. The exhibition brings together early drawings and paintings, mixed-media pieces, maquettes, and full-scale net sculptures, offering an intimate view of Echelman’s progression from explorations of drawing, painting, and textile techniques to monumental works that transform public spaces.
Echelman’s sculptures combine traditional fishing-net knotting with engineered fibers, computational design, and ideas drawn from architecture, urban design, material science, engineering, computer science, and performance. Her large-scale, undulating forms invite contemplation, connection, and a heightened awareness of the relationship between people and the environment. Radical Softness also anchors a broader, multi-site initiative with satellite installations and programs at American University, Buchanan Gallery at George Mason University, and Capital One Hall.
When: September 17, 2026, through March 20, 2027
Venue: Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art
Tickets: Price not available
Exhibition: The exhibition includes drawings, paintings, mixed-media works, maquettes, and full-size net sculptures from across Janet Echelman’s career.
Artist: Janet Echelman creates sculptures at the scale of buildings and city blocks. Her practice uses materials ranging from atomized water particles to engineered fiber described as fifteen times stronger than steel, combining centuries-old craft methods with advanced computational design.
Artistic focus: Echelman’s works explore storytelling, empathy, interconnectedness, and the experience of moving through or around an artwork rather than simply viewing it as an object. Many of her installations use shifting colored light and changing forms to alter public spaces over time.
Multi-site initiative: Related satellite installations and programs are planned at American University, Buchanan Gallery at George Mason University, and Capital One Hall.
Exhibition history: Radical Softness is a traveling exhibition organized by Studio Echelman and the Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College.
Support: The exhibition is supported in part by Nedra and Peter Agnew, Leila Gordon, Joe Koszarek, A. Borisenko and K. Matthew, and Lake Thoreau Entertainment Association.
Press contact: Press inquiries are directed to Sofia Blom at sblom@tephraica.org.