Cloth in Context:
Kerri Green, Jean Howard, Chriss Johns
Cloth in Context: Kerri Green, Jean Howard, Chriss Johns
October 6 - October 31, 2026
Artist Talks Tuesday October 6, 2026 1 PM - 3 PM
Textile artists Kerri Green, Jean Howard, and Chriss Johns have joined together to present their art at Textile Art Gallery NYC from October 6-31, 2026. Kerri Green, from Dallas, Texas uses her art to express contemporary themes in present day life. From her home in rural Auxvasse, Missouri, Jean Howard is inspired to incorporate the vivid colors and shapes found in nature and her imagination. Haling from Sugar Grove, Illinois, Chriss Johns explores the use of surface design to produce provocative pieces of art. Together, these artists represent current modern-day textile art. The artists invite you to step into their world of contemporary fiber art. Join them for their artists’ talks on Tuesday, October 6 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. at the Textile Art Gallery NYC.
Kerri Green
Jean Howard
In June of 2025, Kerri underwent a life-changing surgery and had 4 levels of neck vertebrae fused. “It’s been a long recovery, and my art practice has changed. Usually working improvisationally through sketches and placing random shapes on the wall, I now had visions of representation in my brain. I was on so many medications for months that my thinking wasn’t clear. I dreamed about pills and pill bottles. Tripping and falling was a top concern. I realized I had to work this out on the wall in my own art form. “
Kerri has done a deep dive into subjects relating to her health and healing and has created a few graphic quilts that have just begun an exploration into our medical world and subjects to which she hopes we can all relate. Stay tuned for the next iterations of her experience
I sew textile art to express my appreciation of nature, as well as my excitement in exploring the interaction of color, shape, and line. Through my art, I pay homage to my family’s rich traditions in quilting and farming, while pushing the boundaries of what can be accomplished with needle and thread. I incorporate bold color and intuitive composition in the abstract quilts I sketch and construct, as they evolve over time on my design wall. Woods, fields, and gardens provide me with endless inspiration and joy to return to my studio daily.
I draw ideas for my art in a sketchbook before enlarging them to fit on a quilt. Using hand-drawn patterns, I carefully label each part of the design, cut it out, and then draw it onto the hand-dyed fabric. Although I have been a sewist since I was 10 years old, and a quilter since my 30’s, sewing textile art never gets old. Choosing interesting and vibrant colors as I work through the sewing of the quilt brings my ideas to life. By dyeing and screen printing my own fabrics and machine quilting each piece, I create work with a distinctive visual identity
Chriss Johns
I create abstract compositions through a process of hand dyeing, screen printing, and surface design, building a visual vocabulary before the act of composition begins. Each textile carries its own history of marks, color, and texture, becoming both medium and subject. Using cloth as a substitute for paint, I allow the material itself to shape the work, bringing together gesture, structure, and intuition in equal measure.
Grounded in the principles of design, my practice investigates the relationships between shape, line, proportion, figure-ground tension, repetition, hue, value, and rhythm. These elements form layered compositions where harmony and disruption coexist. An unexpected or slightly elusive visual relationship often becomes the point of entry—an element that resists immediate resolution and invites sustained looking. The work reveals itself slowly, asking the viewer to remain with it as shifting relationships emerge across the surface.
My studio practice is a process of listening. Each decision is guided by an ongoing dialogue with the materials and by an inner voice that continually searches for balance, beauty, and meaning. I am interested in the space where intuition meets formal structure, where complexity gives way to moments of clarity, and where disparate elements begin to speak to one another in quiet visual poetry.
The search itself is the work. Every composition becomes a record of looking, listening, and responding—a layered exploration of both the material and myself. Through textiles, I seek to create works that transcend function and invite contemplation, offering spaces where curiosity is rewarded, perception deepens, and beauty unfolds over time.