JON ERIC RIIS
Jon Eric Riis, "Bruised"
Considered by many to be the nation's leading contemporary tapestry artist, Jon Eric Riis has perhaps more than any other artist taken the ancient craft of hand-woven tapestry to the level of important contemporary fine art. Often imbuing his subject matter with highly critical social and cultural ideas, Riis' provocative art is as important for its content as it is for its stunning execution and unmatched technical prowess. Jon Eric Riis creates extraordinary works of woven silk and metallic thread with textured undulating surfaces of hand-stitched pearls, coral and glass beads. The meticulous works are supremely crafted, astonishing in visual effect and profound in concept.
The tapestries of Jon Eric Riis can be found in the permanent collection of The Art Institute of Chicago as well as the Museum of Arts & Design in New York and the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Museum of Art, Washington D.C., among others. He is past recipient of many awards and grants including National Endowment for the Arts, Fulbright Grant and a prestigious Honorary Award at the 10th International Triennial of Tapestry, Lodz Poland, 2001.
Different Trains Gallery is honored to present Jon's first hometown exhibition since his 2001 show at the Museum of Design Atlanta.
Sign our email list to receive an invitation and follow Different Trains on Instagram & Facebook to stay up to date.
The tapestries of Jon Eric Riis can be found in the permanent collection of The Art Institute of Chicago as well as the Museum of Arts & Design in New York and the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Museum of Art, Washington D.C., among others. He is past recipient of many awards and grants including National Endowment for the Arts, Fulbright Grant and a prestigious Honorary Award at the 10th International Triennial of Tapestry, Lodz Poland, 2001.
Different Trains Gallery is honored to present Jon's first hometown exhibition since his 2001 show at the Museum of Design Atlanta.
Sign our email list to receive an invitation and follow Different Trains on Instagram & Facebook to stay up to date.
C.V.
Education
1967 B.F.A., School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
1969 M.F.A., Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, MI
1970 Fulbright Grant, Viswa Bharati University, Santiniketan, West Bengal, India
Selected Awards, Grants and Scholarships
Outstanding Student Award, Cranbrook Academy of Art, 1969
National Endowment for the Arts Grant, 1974
National Endowment for the Arts Grant, 1977 (funding apprentice in tapestry studio)
Partners of the America’s Grant for study of textiles in Brazil, 1978
A.I.A. Award for Contributions of Art in Architecture, 1978
Special Award, Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, Hungary, 2001
Honorary Award, 10th International Triennial of Tapestry, Lotz, Poland, 2001
Master of the Medium Award in Fibers, Renwick Alliance, Washington DC, 2011
Selected Professional Organizations
Museum of Design-Atlanta, Founding member and Executive Board member 1989-1999
Advisory Committee, The Hand Weavers Guild of America 1990-present
Advisory Member, Southeast Fiber Arts Alliance –present
Selected Collections
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
American Museum of Art and Design, New York, NY
Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC
Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis MN
Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia, SC
Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT
Southwest School of Art and Craft, San Antonio, TX
Selected Juror Panels
American Juror for the 11th Int’l Triennial of Tapestry, Lotz, Poland, 2004
American Juror for the 5th Int’l Textile ’05 Biennial, Kaunas, Lithuania, 2005
Selected Exhibitions
1998 “Contemporary Georgia Five: Five Perspectives”, Georgia Museum of Art, Athens, GA
1999 “Beadz”, Museum of Art and Design, New York, NY
2001 “Karpit”, International Tapestry Exhibition, Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, Hungary
2001 “The 10th International Triennial of Tapestry, Lodz, Poland
2002 “Southeastern Craft Innovators”, Knoxville Museum of Art, Knoxville, TN
2002 “Festival of Fiber”, Int’l Tapestry Exhibit, Beauvais, France
2002 “American Tapestry Biennial 4”, Richmond Art Gallery, Richmond, BC, Canada
2003 Triennial 9 Form and Contents, Museum fur Angewandte Kunst, Frankfurt, Germany and the Museum of Art and Design, New York, NY
2003 “Representing Representation VI”, Arnot Museum, Elmira, NY
2004 “By Hand in the Electric Age”, Textile Museum, Washington, DC
2005 Tournai Int’l Art Triennial, Ki Monologue Competition, Tournai, Belgium
2005 “Fiber: a New World View”, National Craft Gallery of Ireland, Kilkenny, Ireland
2005 Cheongju Int’l Craft Biennale, National Cheongju Museum, Cheongju City, Korea
2005 5th Int’l Kaunas Textile Biennial, National Museum of Art, Kaunas, Lithuania
2005 “Edges of Grace- Uncommon Craft”, Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA
2005 “Kapit 2 Metamorphoses, Int’l Exhibition of Contemporary Tapestry, Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest
2006 “Wrapped in Color”, Bellevue Arts Museum, Bellevue, WA
2006 “Bridge 9”, Society for Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, PA
2006-2007 “One of a Kind: The Studio Craft Movement”, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
2007-2009 “Craft In America : Expanding Traditions”, Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AK; Museum of Contemporary Craft, Portland, OR; Int’l Museum, San Diego, CA; Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Houston, TX; Cranbrook Art Museum, Bloomfield Hills, MI; National Cowboy & Western Art Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, OK; Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA
2007 “Mode of Life Exhibition”, Cheongju Int’l Craft Biennale , Cheongju City, Korea
2007 “Private Pleasures”, Collecting Contemporary Textile Art, Textile Museum, Washington, DC
2008-2011 “Traditions/Innovation: American Masterpieces of Southern Craft and Traditional Art”, Atlanta History, Atlanta, GA; Kentucky Museum of Art, Louisville, KY; Knoxville Museum of Art, Knoxville, TN; Southern center for Contemporary Art, Winston Salem, NC; Sumter County Museum, Sumter, SC; Ohr O’Keefe Museum of Art, Biloxi, MS
2009 Solo Exhibition: Jon Eric Riis “Sourcing the World”, The Chung Young Yang Embroidery Museum, Sookmyung Woman’s University, Seoul, Korea
2010 Evoke Contemporary Gallery, “Representing the Nude”, Santa Fe, NM
2010 “Different Lines: Drawings by Craft Artists, Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA
2010 Solo Exhibition: Jon Eric Riis “The Embellished Textile” Janina Monkute-Marks Museum, Kedainai, Lithuania. Sponsor: The American Center of the United States Embassy in Lithuania
2010 Solo Exhibition, “Oracles”, Southwest School of Art, San Antonio, TX
2010-2011 “Race, Sex, Politics and Religion, Space One Eleven, Birmingham, AL and Emory University Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA
2011 “ Contemporary Fiber Art: A Selection from the Permanent Collection”, The Art Institute of Chicago, IL2011 Solo Exhibitions, Myrna Myers Gallery and the Galerie Chevalier, Paris, France
2011. Solo exhibition, Museum of Design-Atlanta, Atlanta, GA
2017 Two-Man-Show with Steve McKenzie, Different Trains Gallery, Decatur, GA
1967 B.F.A., School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
1969 M.F.A., Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, MI
1970 Fulbright Grant, Viswa Bharati University, Santiniketan, West Bengal, India
Selected Awards, Grants and Scholarships
Outstanding Student Award, Cranbrook Academy of Art, 1969
National Endowment for the Arts Grant, 1974
National Endowment for the Arts Grant, 1977 (funding apprentice in tapestry studio)
Partners of the America’s Grant for study of textiles in Brazil, 1978
A.I.A. Award for Contributions of Art in Architecture, 1978
Special Award, Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, Hungary, 2001
Honorary Award, 10th International Triennial of Tapestry, Lotz, Poland, 2001
Master of the Medium Award in Fibers, Renwick Alliance, Washington DC, 2011
Selected Professional Organizations
Museum of Design-Atlanta, Founding member and Executive Board member 1989-1999
Advisory Committee, The Hand Weavers Guild of America 1990-present
Advisory Member, Southeast Fiber Arts Alliance –present
Selected Collections
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
American Museum of Art and Design, New York, NY
Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC
Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis MN
Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia, SC
Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT
Southwest School of Art and Craft, San Antonio, TX
Selected Juror Panels
American Juror for the 11th Int’l Triennial of Tapestry, Lotz, Poland, 2004
American Juror for the 5th Int’l Textile ’05 Biennial, Kaunas, Lithuania, 2005
Selected Exhibitions
1998 “Contemporary Georgia Five: Five Perspectives”, Georgia Museum of Art, Athens, GA
1999 “Beadz”, Museum of Art and Design, New York, NY
2001 “Karpit”, International Tapestry Exhibition, Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, Hungary
2001 “The 10th International Triennial of Tapestry, Lodz, Poland
2002 “Southeastern Craft Innovators”, Knoxville Museum of Art, Knoxville, TN
2002 “Festival of Fiber”, Int’l Tapestry Exhibit, Beauvais, France
2002 “American Tapestry Biennial 4”, Richmond Art Gallery, Richmond, BC, Canada
2003 Triennial 9 Form and Contents, Museum fur Angewandte Kunst, Frankfurt, Germany and the Museum of Art and Design, New York, NY
2003 “Representing Representation VI”, Arnot Museum, Elmira, NY
2004 “By Hand in the Electric Age”, Textile Museum, Washington, DC
2005 Tournai Int’l Art Triennial, Ki Monologue Competition, Tournai, Belgium
2005 “Fiber: a New World View”, National Craft Gallery of Ireland, Kilkenny, Ireland
2005 Cheongju Int’l Craft Biennale, National Cheongju Museum, Cheongju City, Korea
2005 5th Int’l Kaunas Textile Biennial, National Museum of Art, Kaunas, Lithuania
2005 “Edges of Grace- Uncommon Craft”, Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA
2005 “Kapit 2 Metamorphoses, Int’l Exhibition of Contemporary Tapestry, Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest
2006 “Wrapped in Color”, Bellevue Arts Museum, Bellevue, WA
2006 “Bridge 9”, Society for Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, PA
2006-2007 “One of a Kind: The Studio Craft Movement”, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
2007-2009 “Craft In America : Expanding Traditions”, Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AK; Museum of Contemporary Craft, Portland, OR; Int’l Museum, San Diego, CA; Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Houston, TX; Cranbrook Art Museum, Bloomfield Hills, MI; National Cowboy & Western Art Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, OK; Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA
2007 “Mode of Life Exhibition”, Cheongju Int’l Craft Biennale , Cheongju City, Korea
2007 “Private Pleasures”, Collecting Contemporary Textile Art, Textile Museum, Washington, DC
2008-2011 “Traditions/Innovation: American Masterpieces of Southern Craft and Traditional Art”, Atlanta History, Atlanta, GA; Kentucky Museum of Art, Louisville, KY; Knoxville Museum of Art, Knoxville, TN; Southern center for Contemporary Art, Winston Salem, NC; Sumter County Museum, Sumter, SC; Ohr O’Keefe Museum of Art, Biloxi, MS
2009 Solo Exhibition: Jon Eric Riis “Sourcing the World”, The Chung Young Yang Embroidery Museum, Sookmyung Woman’s University, Seoul, Korea
2010 Evoke Contemporary Gallery, “Representing the Nude”, Santa Fe, NM
2010 “Different Lines: Drawings by Craft Artists, Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA
2010 Solo Exhibition: Jon Eric Riis “The Embellished Textile” Janina Monkute-Marks Museum, Kedainai, Lithuania. Sponsor: The American Center of the United States Embassy in Lithuania
2010 Solo Exhibition, “Oracles”, Southwest School of Art, San Antonio, TX
2010-2011 “Race, Sex, Politics and Religion, Space One Eleven, Birmingham, AL and Emory University Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA
2011 “ Contemporary Fiber Art: A Selection from the Permanent Collection”, The Art Institute of Chicago, IL2011 Solo Exhibitions, Myrna Myers Gallery and the Galerie Chevalier, Paris, France
2011. Solo exhibition, Museum of Design-Atlanta, Atlanta, GA
2017 Two-Man-Show with Steve McKenzie, Different Trains Gallery, Decatur, GA