'Monumental Tapestry' To Debut At The Aldrich In Ridgefiel

RIDGEFIELD, CT — The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum will debut artist Julia Bland’s first solo museum exhibition, "Woven in the Reeds," as part of its Aldrich Projects series. The installation, on view from May 15 to Sept. 14, 2025, will feature a monumental tapestry composed of hand-dyed and handwoven materials including canvas, rope, and linen nets.

Raised in Palo Alto, CA, Bland was influenced by the counterculture of the 1960s and ’70s and her own interfaith upbringing. She later spent time in Morocco studying Sufism, which informs the spiritual and geometric themes in her textile work. Her compositions combine sacred symbols from Islamic and Judeo-Christian traditions with psychedelic imagery, reflecting a deep interest in mystical abstraction.

Bland’s upcoming installation explores perception through the “Shifting Gestalt Effect,” where the viewer’s understanding of the shapes and patterns within the tapestry may change based on perspective. The title refers to the symbolic role of reeds in both Jewish and Sufi traditions.

The exhibition, curated by Caitlin Monachino, will be accompanied by a limited-edition ’zine. Bland, a Yale MFA graduate, lives and works in Brooklyn. Her past work has been exhibited nationally and internationally.

More information is available on the museum website.