Friday 19 September, 6:30-8:30 p.m.: Exhibition & Talk: Thread Counts, The Power of Textiles in Contemporary Art with Isabella Smith, Woo Jin Joo and Christopher Kelly

Join writer Isabella Smith with gallery artists Woo Jin Joo and Christopher Kelly at Ruup & Form for London Textile Month. Explore how textiles carry memory, transform materials, and inspire new worlds.

As part of the exhibition In Company of the Unexpected (exhibition runs from 12 Sept - 22 Oct) at Ruup & Form Gallery, this talk celebrates the tactile and imaginative potential of textiles in contemporary practice. Threads carry stories. Woven, knotted and stitched across time, connecting material process with memory, place and cultural inheritance.

In this special conversation for London Textile Month, writer and editor Isabella Smith joins gallery artists Woo Jin Joo and Christopher Kelly to explore the material and conceptual power of textiles in contemporary art. Together, they will reflect on how fibre can hold personal and collective histories, transform humble or salvaged matter into resonant forms and inspire new worlds of making.

Woo Jin’s practice is steeped in memory and cultural references, carrying echoes of place, tradition, and personal myth. Christopher Kelly’s fibre and textile sculptures, crafted from salvaged and elemental materials, investigate neurodiversity, sensory language, and community connection through tactile and collaborative forms.

This conversation invites audiences to consider how textiles transcend utility to become vessels for narrative, empathy, and transformation, threads not merely as material, but as living conduits binding together stories, identities, and imaginative possibilities.

Ruup & Form is an ever-evolving, dynamic platform dedicated to the progression of artistic expression. A contemporary gallery based in London we interject art, craft, and design, embracing new voices, styles, and ideas to enrich the cultural landscape. Our collection is a vibrant mix of creativity, where the latest trends, emerging talents, and established masters harmoniously coexist. We meticulously curate museum-quality artwork that enhances living and working spaces and support talented artists globally. 

Founded by Varuna Kollanethu in 2019, the aim of the gallery is to blur lines between art and crafts, build communities by bringing works to a wider audience and promoting our artists through exhibitions, events, fairs, and educational workshops.

Event Cancellation Policy
All bookings are non-refundable. However, if you let us know that you are unable to attend an event you have booked at least two weeks before the event, we will open up your place. If we find another participant, you will be offered a credit note.

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