Textiles were not part of the curriculum when American born artist Dorothy Caldwell went to art school. Seeing quilts from the collection of Jonathan Holstein and Gail van der Hoof at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1971 made a lasting impression; but still she did not consider using textiles in her own work.

It was a painted velvet cushion by artist Lenore Davis, seen later that decade, that 'formed a bridge between painting and textile.' She discovered other artists, part of the burgeoning ‘Fiber Art’ movement in the United States, such as weaver Leonore Tawney, and Polish born sculptor Magdalena Abakanowicz. These artists were challenging the hierarchical structures within fine art and questioning the validation of certain materials over others. The Fibre Artist Interchange residency in Banff, Alberta, was the turning point when textiles became the focus of Caldwell’s work...

You can read this article in full in Selvedge issue 53.