Carly Owens Weiss is an interdisciplinary artist based in Brooklyn, New York. Grounded in an investigation of the violence of contrasts, her practice navigates the affective friction that emerges at the intersection of the quotidian and the uncanny, the mundane and the irrational. Her work operates within the interstitial spaces of binary tension and negotiates the polarities of comedy and tragedy, seduction and repulsion, familiarity and estrangement. Through a distinct material vocabulary, she draws conceptual parallels between objects, the corporeal form, and the lived textures of somatic experience, establishing a lexicon of vanitas-influenced imagery that interrogates modern anxieties.
Central to her work is an implied, institutionalized societal gaze. She manifests both the physical and psychological dimensions of this surveillance, capturing temporal moments that expose the vulnerabilities of a body subjected to the pressures of social construction. Ultimately, these works function as an examination of contemporary womanhood, decoding the prescriptive expectations of gender through a personal and symbolic lens.
Her latest body of work originates from a persistent, acute awareness of the body; specifically how it exists within and is constrained by space. She is preoccupied with the constant negotiation of physical presence and the psychological imperative to shrink, compress and distort oneself in compliance with external structures. This work articulates the friction and awkwardness of a body forced to adapt to institutional and interpersonal architectures.
Carly is represented by Tracey Morgan Gallery.
Please send artwork inquiries to [email protected]
Central to her work is an implied, institutionalized societal gaze. She manifests both the physical and psychological dimensions of this surveillance, capturing temporal moments that expose the vulnerabilities of a body subjected to the pressures of social construction. Ultimately, these works function as an examination of contemporary womanhood, decoding the prescriptive expectations of gender through a personal and symbolic lens.
Her latest body of work originates from a persistent, acute awareness of the body; specifically how it exists within and is constrained by space. She is preoccupied with the constant negotiation of physical presence and the psychological imperative to shrink, compress and distort oneself in compliance with external structures. This work articulates the friction and awkwardness of a body forced to adapt to institutional and interpersonal architectures.
Carly is represented by Tracey Morgan Gallery.
Please send artwork inquiries to [email protected]
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
2026
Forbidden Fruit, Tracey Morgan Gallery, Asheville, NC USA
Set the Table, The Dairy Arts Center, Boulder, CO USA
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
Vignette, Salon21, New York, 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
Forbidden Fruit, Tracey Morgan Gallery, Asheville, NC USA
Set the Table, The Dairy Arts Center, Boulder, CO USA
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
Vignette, Salon21, New York, 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
Art Fairs
2026
Women-Led Galleries Now, Tracey Morgan Gallery
Women-Led Galleries Now, Tracey Morgan Gallery
Residencies
2025
Open Studio Residency, Haystack Mountain School of Craft, Deer Isle, ME
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
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
Encrusted: Explorations in Contemporary Bead Embroidery, Haystack Mountain School of Craft, Deer Isle, ME
Intro to Goldwork: The Art of Metal Embroidery, John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown NC
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
Encrusted: Explorations in Contemporary Bead Embroidery, Haystack Mountain School of Craft, Deer Isle, ME
Intro to Goldwork: The Art of Metal Embroidery, John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown NC
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
DARIA (Denver Art Review Inquiry + Analysis) : Review- Set the Table: The Art of Nourishment
The American Scholar: Carly Owens- Breaking With TraditionThe Fad: Bad Art Presents Let Them Eat Fake
Rediscovering Art by Women: Interview with Carly Owens
DARIA (Denver Art Review Inquiry + Analysis) : Review- Set the Table: The Art of Nourishment
The American Scholar: Carly Owens- Breaking With TraditionThe Fad: Bad Art Presents Let Them Eat Fake
Rediscovering Art by Women: Interview with Carly Owens