Frances Trombly sculpts with fabric, and she hand-weaves and hand-embroiders sculpture. Her work has, since 2010, explored the potential of her fabric sculpture to shift form between paintings or sculptures. In other cases they accentuate architecture or the fabric itself. She does not use paint. In her 2010 show at Girls Club Collection, she stretched, leaned, floored and upholstered bare handwoven canvas. In Over and Under, her 2013 piece at Locust Projects, a bolt of hand-dyed vivid yellow fabric draped, zig-zag fashion, through the rungs of an aluminum scaffold. She sought to recall the forms of industrial looms, their usual purpose, and their history too. Textiles were one of the earliest innovations in the industrial revolution to take women from their cottage industries into a far more alienating workforce. She also refers to her own history (in the making) since the scaffold was purchased with funds in the budget for the show to support her alternative art space, which in turn supported her studio space. More key actions reveal themselves in this piece – work, time, drape and interconnectivity.
In Blue Folds (2015) Trombly wove blue thread into her fabric as if to highlight her favorite detail – the peaks in the fabric’s graceful drape.
In a review for the Los Angeles Times, Leah Ollman wrote, “What confident trespassers, the works of Frances Trombly. Sculptures, weavings, installations — they meander into all sorts of territory, straddling genre lines and tunneling through hierarchical divides. They make a quietly defiant case for the complex richness of multiplicity, simultaneity.”
An early work by Frances Trombly is on view now at the NSU Art Museum in the exhibition Happy.
Frances Trombly (b. 1976 Miami, FL, USA) is based in Miami, FL, United States. She received a Bachelors of Fine Arts from Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD. She has exhibited nationally and internationally, including a solo project at Locust Projects, Miami; and curated group shows Americana: Formalizing Craft at the Perez Art Museum Miami and united states at the The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, CT.
Her work has been featured in various publications including The New York Times, Art Papers, Sculpture Magazine, Surface Design Journal, and The Los Angeles Times. Trombly’s work is in the permanent collection of the Perez Art Museum, Miami and NSU Art Museum, Ft. Lauderdale, among others.
This year, Frances Trombly won a Creator Award, which is an Ellie to create large-scale works for two upcoming exhibitions that examine woven textiles and their relationship to painting. This year Oolite Arts awarded 44 artists recognition. The jury consisted of nationally recognized curators and art leaders: Deana Haggag, Maria Elena Ortiz, Ian Berry, Debbie Margol, and Larry Ossei-Mensah.
Trombly is an artist in residence at Oolite Arts through 2019. She co-directs Dimensions Variable, an exhibition space in Miami, Florida.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2020
All This Time, Emerson Dorsch, Miami, FL
2018
Zonamaco Sur x Emerson Dorsch, México City, México
2016
Material and its Making, Shoshana Wayne Gallery, Santa Monica, California
2013
Over and Under, Locust Projects, Miami, Florida
2012
Art & Cultural Center of Hollywood, Hollywood, FL
Maison de la Culture Maisonneuve, Montreal (duo)
Dorsch Gallery, Miami, FL
2011
Not Paintings, Shoshana Wayne Gallery, Santa Monica, California
Frances Trombly: Everything and Nothing, Moore College of Art & Design, Goldie Paley Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2010
A Point From Which to Start, Galeria Casas Riegner, Bogotá, Colombia
Paintings, Girlsʼ Club, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
2008
Thinking of Things, David Castillo Gallery, Miami, Florida
Tethered, The Art Gallery, Government Center, Miami, Florida
2006
Frances Trombly, Kevin Bruk Gallery, Miami, Florida
2005
It Makes Me Happy, Leonard Tachmes Gallery, North Miami, Florida
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2019
Happy, NSU Art Museum, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
America Weaves, Coral Gables Art Museum, Coral Gables, FL
Altered States of Consciousness, Oolite Arts, Miami Beach, FL
2018
Deconstruction: A reordering of life, politics, and art, Frost Museum, Miami, FL
Collection Exhibition, Frost Art Museum, Miami, Florida
2017
Columbus College of Art & Design, August 2017-January 2018
Change Agents, Art and Culture Center of Hollywood, Hollywood, Florida
Blue in the Face, Gallery Protocol, Gainesville, Florida
A Thread of Execution, Dimensions Variable, Miami, Florida
Sunrise, Sunset, Emerson Dorsch, Miami, Florida
2016
Lost Spaces and Stories, Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, Contemporary Arts Program, Miami, Florida
Belief + Doubt: Selections from the Francie Bishop Good and David Horvitz Collection, NSU Art Museum, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
2015
Time and Materials, FIU Miami Beach Urban Studios, Miami Beach, Florida
Residential Properties, Miami, Florida
Art on the Green, City of Winter Park, Orlando, Florida
Alternative Contemporaneities: Temporary Autonomous Zones (TAZ), Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami, FL
Habit: the politics of repetition, Emerson Dorsch, Miami, Florida
Locally Sourced, Transformer, American University Museum College of Arts & Sciences, Washington, DC
2014
Textures of Place, Prosjektrom Normanns, Stavanger, Norway
On Location, Dimensions Variable, Art Center South Florida, Miami Beach, Florida
2013
Americana: Formalizing Craft, Perez Art Museum Miami
The Mediumʼs Session, Zeitgeist Gallery, Nashville, TN
Multiplicity, ArtCenter/South Florida, Miami, FL
2012
united states, The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, CT
Not What It Seems, Kennesaw State University Art Museum, Kennesaw, GA
Trombly Rodriguez, The Fabric of a Space, Abrons Art Center, New York, NY
2011
Come Together: Frances Trombly and Leyden Rodriguez-Casanova, Bass Museum of Art, Miami Beach, FL
Off, Lejos del lugar en cuestión, Galeria Casas Riegner, Bogotá, Colombia
Press Plush, Garfo Art Center, Salt Lake City, Utah
Contained, Boston Center for the Arts, Boston, Massachusetts
2010
Last Minute Intervention, Shoshana Wayne Gallery, Santa Monica, California
New Work Miami, Miami Art Museum, Miami, Florida
Look Again, SECCA, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Gallery Projects, David Castillo Gallery, Miami, Florida
Aesthetics & Values, The Frost Art Museum, Miami, Florida
2009
In Stitches, Leila Taghinia-Milani Heller Gallery, New York, New York
Night Shift, Bass Museum of Art, Miami Beach, FL
Our Beginnings Never Know Our Ends, Monya Rowe Gallery, New York, New York
New Art, South Florida Cultural Consortium Media and Visual Arts Fellowship Exhibition, University Galleries, Boca Raton, FL
Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL
Gallery Projects, David Castillo Gallery, Miami, FL
With You I Want to Live: Francie Bishop Good & David Horvitz Collection, Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale/Nova Southeastern University, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Coupling, Buena Vista Building, Design District, Miami, FL
2008
Under the Influence, Girlsʼ Club & Art and Culture Center of Hollywood, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Hecho a mano, el oficio en el arte, Casas Riegner Gallery, Bogotá, Colombia
Five Solo Shows, David Castillo Gallery, Miami, FL
Open Space, Socrates Sculpture Park, Long Island City, NY
Tuttle, David Castillo Gallery, Miami, FL
Yardwork, CasaLin, Miami, Florida
Disappearances, Shadows and Illusions, Miami Art Museum, Miami, Florida
Self-Storage, California College of the Arts, The Hardware Store Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2007
Top Soil, Curated by Mette Tommerup, Casa Lin, Miami, FL
Id Is, Steven Wolf Fine Arts Gallery, San Francisco, California
Real Time, David Castillo Gallery, Miami, FL
Whatʼs Your Hobby?, Curated by Beth DeWoody, The Fireplace Project, East Hampton, NY
Craft Women and Rebel Grrrls, MoCA, The Goldman Warehouse, Miami, FL
Stitch in Time, University of California, San Francisco, California
Drawn In/Drawn Out, Florida Atlantic University Gallery, Boca Raton, Florida
2006
Papel, Casas Riegner Gallery, Bogotá, Columbia
Tour, Hilger Contemporary, Vienna Biennale, Vienna, Austria
Locust Projects, Milwaukee International Art Fair, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Embroidered Stories/Knitted Tales, Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek, California
Native Seeds, Art Center South Florida, Miami, Florida
Something, Locust Projects, Miami, Florida
2005
I woke up in a strange place, Moti Hasson Gallery, New York, New York
MoCA and Miami, Museum Of Contemporary Art, North Miami, Florida
On the Mark, Fine Arts Center Gallery, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI
Hanging by a Thread, The Moore Space, Miami, Florida
Reduced, Art and Culture Center of Hollywood, Hollywood, Florida
Trading Places, Museum Of Contemporary Art, North Miami, Florida
Something is Somewhere, Curated by Anat Ebgi, Monya Rowe Gallery, New York, NY
For Everyone and No One, Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami, Florida
Carina Randlov and Frances Trombly, Moti Hasson Gallery, New York, New York
Open House, Bank Art, Los Angeles, California
2004
Domestic Arrivals, White Box, New York, NY
Drawing Conclusions 2, Rocket Projects, Miami, FL
Assembly Required, World Arts Building, Miami, FL
2003
Volume 3 / No. 2, Leonard Tachmes Gallery, North Miami, FL
Made in Miami, Fredric Snitzer Gallery, Miami, Florida
Sculpture, Dorsch Gallery, Miami, Florida
Manifest Destiny, Miami Design District, Miami, Florida
2002
Arts to Nature, Miami-Dade Parks Tropical Park, Miami, FL
No Show, Fredric Snitzer Gallery, Miami, FL
2001
Eight Solo Shows, Carlos Betancourt Studio, Miami, FL
The House at MOCA, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Miami, FL
GRANTS, AWARDS, HONORS
2019
Ellies Award, Oolite Arts, Miami, FL
Studio Residency at Oolite Arts, Miami, FL
Hambridge Center Residency, Rabun Gap, GA
2010
John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Knight Arts Challenge Grant/ Girlsʼ Club,
Ft. Lauderdale
2009
South Florida Cultural Consortium Fellowships for Visual & Media Artists,
Miami-Dade County
2009
Capri Palace, Artist Residency, Anacapri, Italy
2008
Florida Department of Cultural Affairs, Individual Artist Fellowship
2007
Vermont Studio Center Residency/Grant, Johnson, Vermont
Florida Department of Cultural Affairs, Artist Enhancement Grant
PRIVATE COLLECTIONS
Jeri L. Wolfson Collection
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, FL
JP Morgan Chase Collection, New York, NY
M-Restaurant Group, Glam, Shanghai, China
Martha and Jim Sweeney Collection of Contemporary Prints by American Women, Museum of Fine Arts, Saint Petersburg, FL
Memorial Sloan Kettering, New Jersey
Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL
Swatch Art Peace Hotel Collection, Shanghai, China
U.S. Department of State Art in Embassies Program, Beijing, China
Lawrence Public Library, Lawrence, KS
Francie Bishop Good and David Horvitz Collection/Girls Club, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Kathryn and Dan Mikesell, Miami, FL
Tampa General Hospital, Tampa, FL
Marshall Center Collection, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
Roger Evans Collection, London, UK
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY (PRINT AND ELECTRONIC)
Belief+Doubt: Selections from the Francie Bishop Good and David Horvitz Collection. Fort Lauderdale, FL: NSU Art Museum, 2016, Page 24, 26-27
Skerritt, Henry. Marking the Infinite, Contemporary Women Artists from Aboriginal Australia. New York: Prestel
Publishing, 2016, Page 15-16 (Illustration)
Ollman, Leah., “Review: Canvas minus the painting: the label-defying art of Frances Trombly,” Los Angeles Times
Sokol, Brett., “Artist-Run Gallery Finds a Home on Miami Dade College Campus,”
New York Times. December 2015
Edwards, Stassa., “Two Miami Stars at Pulse Highlight Growing Visibility of Local Artists,” Miami New Times. December 2015
Danielsen Jølbo, Marte, “Textures of Place interview”, Contemporary Art Stavanger, September 2014
Piske, Sandra., “Magisches Miami” H.O.M.E. magazine, Germany. November 2014
Nolan, Joe, “Critical I: The Mediums Session at Zeitgeist”, Nashville Arts Magazine, September 2013
Hodara, Susan., “Out of Many Themes, One Topic,” New York Times. September 21, 2012 (illustration)
Knight, Christopher., “Art Reviews: Frances Trombly at Shoshana Wayne,” Los Angeles Times. November 2011(illustration)
Albritton, Laura. Art Reviews: Frances Trombly and Leyden Rodriguez-Casanova at The Bass Museum of Art.Sculpture Magazine, November 2011 (illustration)
Anne Tschida. “The art of the book: Frances Trombly” Knight Arts Miami, November 2011 (illustration)
Clearwater, Bonnie; Sorkin, Jenni; Reichek, Elaine; Delgado, Denise; Weinberg, Michelle., “Frances Trombly:Paintings,” Girlsʼ Club, August 2011
Suarez De Jesus, Carlos., “Marry-Making,” Miami New Times, April 2011 (illustration)
Suarez De Jesus, Carlos., “Bass Museum plays old masters against new mavericks,” Miami New Times, April 2011(illustration)
Austin,Tom., “New Bass Museum shows challenge the viewer to look — and see,” The Miami Herald, April 2011
Batet, Janet., “El hecho cotidiano como acto creativo,” El Nuevo Herald, May 2011 (illustration)
Mills, Michael., “Trompe-l’oeil “Paintings” by Frances Trombly at Girlsʼ Club Fool the Mind and the Eye,” Broward Palm Beach New Times, January 2011 (illustration)
Interview, “Jen Stark puts five questions to Frances Trombly,” Modern Painters, June 2009 (illustration)
Clutter, Tyrus., “Frances Trombly & Conrad Bakker: The Value of the Overlooked,” Eye on Art, November 2009(illustration)
Paine, Janice., “Minding the gap between art and Life.” Surface design Journal. Summer 2009, p 32-35 (illustration)
Massimiliano, Gioni; Hoptman, Laura; Cornell, Lauren. “Younger than Jesus: The Artist Directory”, Phaidon Press, May 2009, p 486. (illustration)
Albritton, Laura. “Miami: Sculpture in the pleasure dome.” Sculpture Magazine. December 2008 (illustration)
Hollingworth, Thomas. “Inside the Artists Studio.” Art Basel Miami Beach Magazine. December 2008 (illustration)
“Trinkets and Treasures.” Craft Magazine, Volume 09. November 2008. (illustration)
Rhon, David. “Re-appropriating the Mundane: Frances Tromblyʼs “Thinking of Things,” at David Castillo Gallery.” ArtLurker and TuMiami. May 2008
Hurst, Steph. “An Artistʼs Touch, Frances Trombly is Thinking of Things in latest exhibition.” Arts, Miami Sun Post. May 22, 2008. (illustration)
Feinstein, Roni. “After The Fairs.” Report from Miami, Art in America. March, 2008.
Sharkey, Alix. “The Wizard of Wynwood.” Ocean Drive. March, 2008.(illustration)
Clemence, Paul. Davidow, Julie. Turner, Elisa. “Miami Contemporary Artists.” Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing, 2007,p 228-229. (Illustration)
Santiago, Fabiola. “Artful Whoʼs Who In Miami, New book is a whoʼs who of top Miami artists.” The Miami Herald,December 2, 2007.
Baker, Kenneth.“Soft Sculpture at Wolf.” San Francisco Chronicle. September, 2007. (Illustration)
Summers, Marya. “Art Beat.” Broward / Palm Beach New Times. February, 2007.
Kirpalani, Reshma. “Art around Town.” Society and the Arts, Boca Raton News. January, 2007. (Illustration)
Triff, Alfredo. “Drawn In / Drawn Out.” Exhibition brochure, Florida Atlantic University. January, 2007. (Illustration)
Gordon, Margery. “Art Basel Miami: The Cityʼs Best Private Collections.” Art and Auction. December, 2006. (Illustration)
Lee, Linda. “Buying Early, Buying Often.” Florida Inside Out. January/February, 2006.
Suarez de Jesus, Carlos. “Fall Crawl.” Miami New Times. September, 2006.
Turner, Elisa. “Bass Unfurls A Thoroughly Modern Exhibit Of Tapestries.” The Miami Herald. September 24, 2006.
Turner, Elisa. “Criticʼs Pick.” The Miami Herald. September 15, 2006.
Suarez De Jesus, Carlos. “Something Bold, Something New.” Arts, Miami New Times. August 10, 2006.
Caruso, Carlos Bort. “Art with a Latin Beat, Miami’s art scene gets a shot of cafecito in the arm.” Dragon Fire. 2006.
Herrera, Adriana. “La Promesa Del Arte Contemporaneo Local.” El Nuevo Herald. July 16, 2006.
Weinberg, Michelle. “Native Seeds.” Exhibition catalog, Legal Art grant finalists, Art Center South Florida. June, 2006.
Triff, Alfredo. “Miami Arts Explosion.” Thompson Publishing. 2006.
Bastien, Tairone. “Frances Trombly.” Exhibition brochure. Kevin Bruk Gallery,
September, 2006.
Bean, Sean. “FIM Artist Showcase 05.” Florida International Magazine. October, 2005. (Illustration)
Rodriguez, Bill. “Making their ʻMark.” The Providence Phoenix. November, 2005.
Turner, Elisa. “Reduced.” Criticʼs Pick, The Miami Herald. November 4, 2005.
Norris, Doug. “ʻOn the Mark,ʼ is off the wall.” North East Independent. November, 2005.
Champa, Judith Tolnick. “On The Mark.” Exhibition brochure. November, 2005. (Illustration)
Siclen, Bill Van. “Drawing on lines of many kinds for show at URI.” The Providence Journal. November, 2005.
Arias, Nina. Diaz, Jose. “Hanging by a Thread.” Exhibition catalog, The Moore Space. 2005.
Clearwater, Bonnie. “MoCA and Miami.” Exhibition catalog, MoCA and Miami. 2005.
Salzinger, Samantha. “Reduced.” Exhibition brochure, Hollywood Art and Culture Center. 2005.
Reyes, Carlos. “Frances Trombly.” Exhibition catalog, Moti Hasson Gallery. 2005.
Wonder, Carolina. “It Makes Me Happy.” Exhibition brochure, Leonard Tachmes Gallery. 2005.
Mills, Michael. “The Anti-Sequel.” Broward/Palm Beach New Times. September 22, 2005.
Triff, Alfredo. “Loose Threads.” Miami New Times. September 22, 2005.
Turner, Elisa. “Hanging by a Thread.” Criticʼs Pick, The Miami Herald. September 16, 2005.
Shabaka, Onajide. “Art and Culture Center of Hollywood.” Miami Art Exchange. 2005.
Hudspeth, K. “Trading Places.” The Next Few Hours blog. 2005.
Shabaka, Onajide. “Trading Places at MoCA.” Miami Art Exchange. 2005.
Sohn, K. Lee. “The Big Picture.” Miami New Times. August 18, 2005.
Turner, Elisa. “Makeover at MoCA.” The Miami Herald. August 14, 2005.
Suarez de Jesus, Carlos. “Homespun Art.” Miami New Times. July 28, 2005.
Einspruch, Franklin. “Frances Trombly at Leonard Tachmes.” Artblog. April, 2005.
Triff, Alfredo. “It Makes Me Happy.” Miami New Times. 2005.
Herrera, Adriana. “Artistas Trasladaran Sus Estudios A Las Galerias Del MoCA.” El Nuevo Herald. July, 2005.
Von Lates, Adrianne. “Trading Places.” Exhibition brochure. MoCA, N. Miami. August, 2005.
Davis, Nicole. “The Miami School.” Artnet. September, 2004. (Illustration)
Sirgado, Miguel. “Talento Creativo De Miami En Nueva York.” El Nuevo Herald. September 19, 2004.
Suarez De Jesus, Carlos. “Triple Vision.” Miami New Times. July 22, 2004.
Weinberg, Michelle. “Triple Threat.” Miami New Times. May 6, 2004.
Feinstein, Roni. ”Expanding Horizons.” Art in America. December, 2003.
Herrera, Adriana. “La Casa de Eugenio Espinoza.” El Nuevo Herald. 2003.
Turner, Elisa. “Home Front.” The Miami Herald. 2003.
Turner, Elisa. “Women are the focus at compelling shows in alternative spaces.” The Miami Herald. January 19, 2003.
Damien, Carol. “Arts to Nature.” Exhibition catalog. Miami-Dade Parks/Tropical Park. 2002.
Turner, Elisa. “Young artists find a temporary home at ʻThe House at MoCAʼ.” The Miami Herald. September 9, 2001.
Espinoza, Eugenio. “The House, Museum of Contemporary Art.” Art Nexus. 2001
EDUCATION
BFA, Maryland Institute College of Art
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