Melissa Maddonni Haims
Contact Information
Studio & Gallery
Herman Street Studios 20 E. Herman Street Philadelphia, PA 19118
vimeo.com/melissamaddonnihaims
Please contact artist for purchases, commissions, etc.
Shop Melissa Maddonni Haims on:
Fiber Art/ Sculpture & 3D
Artist's Biography
Melissa Maddonni Haims is a sculptor based in Philadelphia. Using various fibers, she creates knit graffiti, soft sculpture, and large-scale installations using knitted and crocheted yarns. Additionally, she sews unconventional quilts using vintage fabrics and subversive text. The majority of her work is produced using recycled, reclaimed and rescued textile materials.
After attending a long list of East Coast art schools studying sculpture, painting and printmaking, her career began in New York City in the 1990’s. Eventually, Life led her back home to Philadelphia, where she lives with her husband and daughter.
Haims’ work has been shown extensively in national galleries and museums and is held in private collections throughout the United States. In 2014, she was featured on an A&E network television program about artists who make work out of unusual materials. She has been yarn bombing internationally since 2010.
Ms. Haims has been exhibiting at contemporary art fairs since 2011. During Art Basel Miami she was awarded the Tomorrow Stars prize at Verge Fair in 2011, and was invited to show public installations in 2012, 2013 and 2014. In 2015, she was nominated for the Pulse Prize at the Pulse Contemporary Art Fair in New York City during Armory Week. Her work was also represented in Miami at Satellite Fair in 2016. She began building her curatorial resume in 2009.
Artist's Statement
Working in materials traditionally considered “feminine,” my fiber pieces reflect the virulence and frustration that are related to women’s roles and domesticity. Through quilting, embroidering, knit and crochet, I build the conceptual vocabulary of my various bodies of work. I find the craft of quilting parallels nicely with the reality and experiences of womanhood — there are a million little pieces of ourselves that we are stitching together every day to build our internal and external narratives. In my embroidered + quilted canvases, I use phrases associated with the quintessential longing of the American housewife as she approaches mid-life. Speaking from experience, many of these women feel as though they didn't sign up for what they got and are nostalgic for the life of freedom and spontaneity from their past. The stark reality of acrimonious thoughts is embroidered in unfiltered, unfettered phrases across a flowered landscape of divergent fabrics. These pieces create a contradiction that I long for, causing the audience to delight in the very “wrongness” of the statement and linger in its colorful handwork combined with the hard truth. The process of focusing on the internal, unrestrained conversation in my head, in all of our heads, is both sensational and subjugating. By bringing it out into the open, I am challenging the audience to listen to that “little voice,” which could very possibly be their own.
Selected Exhibitions
Solo
2016
Wrapped Up, The Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania
, Philadelphia, PA
The Foragers, Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education , Philadelphia, PA
2015
Pulse Contemporary Art Fair, Featured by InLiquid, New York, NY
2014
In Retrospect: 10 Years of Fiber Arts by Melissa Maddonni Haims, Painted Bride Art Center, Philadelphia, PA
2013
Spring Forward: Contemporary Fibers in Historic Homes, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
Offering, 3rd Street Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Purge, 3rd Street Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2012
Cold Comfort, Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education
, Philadelphia, PA
2009
Heaven and Hell, Highwire Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2008
Short Stories, The Showroom, Philadelphia, PA
1998
Boxes, Kavehaz Gallery, SOHO, New York, NY
1997
Memory Dresses, Sai Gallery, SOHO, New York, NY
1996
Finding Family, Stephen Gang Gallery, Chelsea, New York, NY
Group
2017
Speaking of Fibers, Maryville University, Morton May Gallery, St. Louis, MO
Crafting Context, CraftNow, Art in City Hall Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Fiber Squared, The Foundry, St. Charles, MO
The Woodmere Annual, Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia, PA
Art in the Age of Injustice, Women’s Caucus for the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Feminist Fiber Arts, Virago Gallery, Seattle, WA
Conversations, Philadelphia Sculptors, Legend Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2016
The Faces of Politics: In/Tolerance, The Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA
Between the Threads, Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ
Natural Threads, Heritage Museum and Gardens, Sandwich, MA
By Hand, Blue Line Gallery, Roseville, CA
Black Lives Matter, Gallery 51 at MCLA, North Adams, MA
2015
Bushwick Arts Weekend, Pop Up Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2014
Multiples: Critical Craft and Fine Art Fair, Chicago, IL
Reanimate, Philadelphia Sculptors, Pop UP Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Four Corners, The Painted Bride, Philadelphia, PA
2013
Out of the Loop, West Hartford Arts League, Hartford, CT
Renegade: The Mavericks of Fabericks, Rockwell Gallery, Ridgefield, CT
2011
Opposites Attract, Philadelphia Sculptors, University of the Arts
, Philadelphia, PA
2010
New Visions IIII, Goggleworks Center for the Arts, Reading, PA
The Journey, Philadelphia Sculptors, URBN Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2009
On the Fringe of Fiber, City Hall Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
1998
Women, Papp Gallery, SOHO, New York, NY
1997
Five Women, Quickly, Sai Gallery, SOHO, New York, NY
Select Exhibitions
Curated
2017
Achromatic, Mount Airy Contemporary, Philadelphia, PA
2012
Stitch Witchery, Nichols Berg Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Public Projects
2017
Endless Arts, Community Yarnbombing, Eagles Mere, PA
2016
Between the Threads, Community Yarnbombing, Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ
Wrapped Up, Community Yarnbombing, Morris Arboretum, Philadelphia, PA
Artist's Bibliography
2016
The Courier Post
The Boston Globe
The Patriot Ledger
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Broad Street Review
Newsworks.org
Knithacker.com
2015
Fiber Art Now Magazine / Excellence in Fibers
The Sacramento Bee
Art News
Artnet News
The Philadelphia Inquirer
2014
City Paper
2013
The Knight Foundation
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Empty Kingdom
2012
Newsworks.org
The Philadelphia Inquirer
The Knight Foundation
Professional Experience
2014 - present
Consultant, The Handwork Studio, Narberth, PA
2008 - 2014
Curriculum Developer, The Handwork Studio, Narberth, PA
2011 - 2013
Executive Team Member, Fiber Philadelphia 2012, Philadelphia, PA
1996 - 2007
Corporate Interior Design, Various Companies, New York City + Philadelphia
Affiliations
2016 - present
Women’s Caucus for the Arts, Philadelphia and National
2013 - present
Philadelphia Guild of Hand Weavers, Philadelphia, PA
Surface Design Association Member, Philadelphia, PA
2011 - present
Philadelphia Sculptors Member, Philadelphia, PA
Inliquid Member / Philadelphia, PA
Awards
2017
Trocaire Leadership in the Arts Award, Gwynedd Mercy Academy, Gwynedd, PA
2015
Pulse Prize, Nominee
, Pulse Contemporary Art Fair, New York, NY
2014
Artist of the Year, Nominee, RAD Girls, Philadelphia, PA
National Book Award, My Favorite Friend, Blurb.com
2013
Best in Show, Fabrics + Fibers, Markeim Arts Center, Haddonfield, NJ
2011
Tomorrow Stars Award, Verge Fair, Art Basel Miami, Miami Beach, FL
New Courtland Fellowship, Center for Emerging Visual Artists, Philadelphia, PA
Education
1994 - 1996
University Of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI
BFA, Painting; BA, Marine Affairs
1992 - 1993
Sea Education Association, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Boston University, MA
Environmental Sciences And Marine Affairs
1991 - 1992
Tyler School Of Art, Temple University, Elkins Park, PA
Painting & Ceramics
1990 - 1991
Parsons School Of Design And The New School For Social Research, New York, NY
Foundation Year Program
1989
Moore College of Art + Design and Philadelphia College of Textiles + Science, Philadelphia, PA
Recent Artist Member Mentions on InLiquid
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Melissa Madonni Haims’ Philly Family COVID Fund: Door to Door Altruism with Great Social Distancing
The idea came as the famous jingle goes: the best part of waking up… While having coffee one morning, Josh … See Full Post
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POST: Philadelphia Open Studio Tours 2019 – Northwest & West Philly
Philadelphia Open Studio Tours, a program of The Center for Emerging Visual Artists, is the largest tour of artist studios … See Full Post
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The Perks of Being an InLiquid Member Artist
As you (hopefully) already know, InLiquid’s mission is to connection Philadelphia artists to the community. The best way we’re able … See Full Post
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Sculpture in the Glen
InLiquid presents a special collaboration with Charles and Amanda Burch: an outdoor sculpture exhibition inside a beautiful glen in Gladwyne. … See Full Post
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Get Lost (In the Funhouse) at the SPRING/BREAK Art Show
“When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.” — The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance How long does it take … See Full Post
