Carly Owens Weiss is a multidisciplinary artist based in Boulder, Colorado. As an artist, she is interested in the violence of contrasts and navigating the emotional responses that arise from the juxtaposition of the familiar with the unusual, the mundane with the irrational. The tensions between comedy versus tragedy and seduction versus repulsion greatly informs her work. In her pieces, she draws parallels between objects, the body and the experiences lived within it to create contemporary vanitas imagery that discusses modern anxieties through antiquity. Her practice focuses on the recontextualization of imagery present within the art historical canon. Using symbolism and leaning into its inherent dualities, she investigates the ways in which these representations remain applicable to a contemporary landscape, encompassing themes of bodily autonomy, selfhood and consumption. A societal gaze is implied within the work and she creates imagery based upon the physical and phrenic implications of such gaze. Often employing fragmented or compressed compositions, she depicts temporal moments emphasizing the feelings experienced within a body under the pressures of social construction and its repercussions on psychological states. Ultimately, she is confronting contemporary issues of womanhood and expectations of gender through a personal, symbolic lens.
Carly is currently represented by Tracey Morgan Gallery.
Carly is currently represented by Tracey Morgan Gallery.
Education
2013-2017
BAD Art+Design North Carolina State University, Raleigh NC, USA
2016
Royal School of Needlework, East Molesey, United Kingdom
BAD Art+Design North Carolina State University, Raleigh NC, USA
2016
Royal School of Needlework, East Molesey, United Kingdom
Selected Exhibitions- Solo
2024
The Boys Will Get Hungry If They See Fruit, Tracey Morgan Gallery, Asheville NC, USA
The Boys Will Get Hungry If They See Fruit, Tracey Morgan Gallery, Asheville NC, USA
Selected Exhibitions- Group
2025
Guest of a Guest, The Hole (Tribeca), New York, NY USA
Herbivore, The Hole (Bowery), New York, NY USA
Crafting Home, Chautauqua Institution, Chautauqua NY, USA
2024
What Came First, Tracey Morgan Gallery, Asheville NC, USA
Benefit Art Auction/ Exhibition, InLiquid Art, Philadelphia PA, USA
ARTMIX, Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Boulder CO, USA
2023
Benefit Art Auction/ Exhibition, Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Omaha NE, USA
Let Them Eat Fake II, BAD Art Presents x BWG Gallery, London UK
2022
Touch Me Baby, BAD Art Presents x The Bomb Factory Art Foundation, London UK
Benefit Art Auction/ Exhibition, Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Omaha NE, USA
Let Them Eat Fake, BAD Art Presents x The Bomb Factory Art Foundation, London UK
2021
MAD About Jewelry, Museum of Arts and Design, New York, NY USA
Guest of a Guest, The Hole (Tribeca), New York, NY USA
Herbivore, The Hole (Bowery), New York, NY USA
Crafting Home, Chautauqua Institution, Chautauqua NY, USA
2024
What Came First, Tracey Morgan Gallery, Asheville NC, USA
Benefit Art Auction/ Exhibition, InLiquid Art, Philadelphia PA, USA
ARTMIX, Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Boulder CO, USA
2023
Benefit Art Auction/ Exhibition, Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Omaha NE, USA
Let Them Eat Fake II, BAD Art Presents x BWG Gallery, London UK
2022
Touch Me Baby, BAD Art Presents x The Bomb Factory Art Foundation, London UK
Benefit Art Auction/ Exhibition, Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Omaha NE, USA
Let Them Eat Fake, BAD Art Presents x The Bomb Factory Art Foundation, London UK
2021
MAD About Jewelry, Museum of Arts and Design, New York, NY USA
Residencies
2025
Open Studio Residency, Haystack Mountain School of Craft, Deer Isle, ME (forthcoming)
National Artist in Residence, Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, PA
2024
Penland School of Craft Winter Residency (full fellowship), Penland, NC
Lamplight Asheville, The Residency at 821, Asheville, NC
2023
Vermont Studio Center (Windgate/ VSC Fellowship), Johnson, VT
John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, NC
Open Studio Residency, Haystack Mountain School of Craft, Deer Isle, ME (forthcoming)
National Artist in Residence, Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, PA
2024
Penland School of Craft Winter Residency (full fellowship), Penland, NC
Lamplight Asheville, The Residency at 821, Asheville, NC
2023
Vermont Studio Center (Windgate/ VSC Fellowship), Johnson, VT
John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, NC
Teaching
2026
Intro to Goldwork: The Art of Metal Embroidery, John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown NC (forthcoming)
2025
Softly Sculpted: Explorations in Hand Embroidered Soft Sculpture, Arrowmont School of Arts and Craft, Gatlinburg TN
2024
Intro to Goldwork: The Art of Metal Embroidery, John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown NC
Intro to Goldwork: The Art of Metal Embroidery, John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown NC (forthcoming)
2025
Softly Sculpted: Explorations in Hand Embroidered Soft Sculpture, Arrowmont School of Arts and Craft, Gatlinburg TN
2024
Intro to Goldwork: The Art of Metal Embroidery, John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown NC
Studio Assistantships
2019
Penland School of Craft (Textiles Studio), Katherine Diuguid & Nick Deford, Penland NC, USA
2017
Katherine Diuguid, Raleigh NC, USA
2016
North Carolina Museum of Art (Project Manager) Greg Lindquist, Raleigh NC, USA
Penland School of Craft (Textiles Studio), Katherine Diuguid & Nick Deford, Penland NC, USA
2017
Katherine Diuguid, Raleigh NC, USA
2016
North Carolina Museum of Art (Project Manager) Greg Lindquist, Raleigh NC, USA
Awards/ Honors
2024
Penland Winter Artist-in-Residence Full Fellowship, Penland NC
2023
Vermont Studio Center Artist-in-Residence Full Fellowship, Johnson VT
2017
Finalist- Hand & Lock Prize for Embroidery, London, United Kingdom
Project NCMA- 2nd place, North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh NC, USA
ART2WEAR Designer Award for Excellence in Design + Production, Raleigh NC, USA
2016
Noble McDuffie Travel Scholarship, Raleigh NC, USA
2013-2017
Charles L. Tate Scholarship, Raleigh NC, USA
Penland Winter Artist-in-Residence Full Fellowship, Penland NC
2023
Vermont Studio Center Artist-in-Residence Full Fellowship, Johnson VT
2017
Finalist- Hand & Lock Prize for Embroidery, London, United Kingdom
Project NCMA- 2nd place, North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh NC, USA
ART2WEAR Designer Award for Excellence in Design + Production, Raleigh NC, USA
2016
Noble McDuffie Travel Scholarship, Raleigh NC, USA
2013-2017
Charles L. Tate Scholarship, Raleigh NC, USA
Press
Burnaway: Review- Carly Owens Weiss, The Boys Will Get Hungry if They See Fruit at Tracey Morgan Gallery, Asheville
The American Scholar: Carly Owens- Breaking With Tradition
The Fad: Bad Art Presents Let Them Eat Fake
Rediscovering Art by Women: Interview with Carly Owens
The American Scholar: Carly Owens- Breaking With Tradition
The Fad: Bad Art Presents Let Them Eat Fake
Rediscovering Art by Women: Interview with Carly Owens