Qualeasha Wood
b. 1996 Long Branch, New Jersey, USALives and works in Philadelphia, PA, USA
CURRICULUM VITAE SELECT PRESS
Qualeasha Wood is a textile artist whose work contemplates realities around black female embodiment that do and might exist. Inspired by a familial relationship to textiles, queer craft, Microsoft Paint and internet avatars, Wood's tufted and tapestry pieces mesh traditional craft and contemporary technological materials. Thus, Qualeasha navigates both an Internet environment saturated in Black Femme figures and culture, and a political and economic environment holding that embodiment at the margins. Like the vast majority of her age-peers, Wood has operated one mortal and multiple digital avatars since pre-adolescence. For her, what are intuitive combinations of analog and cybernetic compositional processes, make for a plainly contemporary exploration of Black American Femme ontology.
Public
Collections
• The Metropolitan Museum of
Art, New York, NY, USA• The Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Houston, TX, USA
• Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY, USA
• RISD Museum. Providence, Rhode Island
• Rennie Collection. Vancouver, British Columbia, CA
• Lumpkin-Boccuzzi Collection, New York, NY, USA
• Dean Collection, New York, NY, USA
• School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
Education
2021 Master of Fine Arts,
Photography Cranbrook Academy of Fine Art, Bloomfield Hills, MI
2019 Bachelor of Fine Arts, Printmaking
Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
Solo Exhibitions & Presentations
2024 code_anima, Harvey B.
Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture, Charlotte, NC2023 Manic Pixie Magical Negro, Kendra Jayne Patrick, New York, NY
• tl;dr, Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, London, UK
2022 Focus: Qualeasha Wood, Galerie Nordenhake Focus, Stockholm, SE
2021 Art Basel Miami Beach 2021, Nova Section, Miami Beach, FL
2019 Qualeasha Wood, Gluon Gallery, Milwaukeee, WI
Select Group and Two-Person Exhibitions
2025 Giants:
Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys, Brooklyn Museum,
NY (2024); currently at the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA (2024 - 2025) 2024 STRADA NUOVA, STRADA, New York, NY
• The Brooklyn Artists Exhibition, Brooklyn Museum, NY
• Beyond: Tapestry Expanded, American Tapestry Alliance, NY
• Threaded Visions: Contemporary Weavings from the Collection, The Art Institute of Chicago, IL
• Threaded, The Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, Atlanta, GA
• The Ceremony Must be Found: Ritual as Artistic Practice, Elizabeth Foundation For The Arts, New York, NY
2022 The New Bend, Hauser & Wirth, New York, NY, Los Angeles, CA, and Sommerset, England, UK
• It’s Time for Me to Go: The Studio Museum of Harlem Residency Exhibition, MoMA PS1, New York, NY
• Dunlop Gallery, Regina, Saskatchewan
2021 Alter Egos, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
• Dancing in Dark Times, Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, London, UK
2020 Repose, Gaa Gallery, Provincetown, MA
• Crescendo, New Image Art, West Hollywood, CA
• NADA presents, “FAIR” Inaugural Edition, Kendra Jayne Patrick
2019 A Manifest of Ipseities, 333 Midland, Detroit, MI
• Oracles of The Other, Modified Arts, Phoenix, AZ
• A Complete Change of Form Into a More Beautiful or Spiritual State, Cooper Cole, Toronto, CA
2018 New Contemporaries, Gelman Gallery, Providence, RI
• The Salon At The Wing, The Wing Boston, Boston, MA
• END, New Image Art, West Hollywood, CA
• We Thought of You, Gelman Gallery, Providence, RI
• Under Pressure, Benson Gallery, Providence, RI
2017 RISD Printmaking Triennial, Woods Gerry Gallery, Providence, RI.
Atlas of Enslavement, installation throughout Providence, RI
Art Fairs
2024 The Salon - an invitational art fair by
NADA & The Community, Kendra Jayne Patrick, Paris, FR2020 NADA MIAMI BEACH [IN NEW YORK] 2020, Kendra Jayne Patrick, New York, NY
2021 NADA presents, “FAIR” Inaugural Edition, Kendra Jayne Patrick
Select Press
2024 • The Today Show, Alicia Keys, Swizz Beatz on inspiring others with ‘Giants’ art exhibit. Interviewed by Hoda Kotb.
•Hyperallergic - Qualeasha Wood Weaves the Online into IRL, by Izzy DeSantis
• The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Philly artist sharing space with Jean-Michel Basquiat in an ongoing Brooklyn Museum show.
• Vanity Fair, The secrets of Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz’s museum-ready art collection.
• Art Basel, Creating new rituals for a world in flux.
• The Art Institute of Chicago, The Alchemy of Weaving
2023 • Galerie, Fast-Rising Artist Qualeasha Wood Blends Textural Fuzziness with Digital Frenzy
• The New York Times, What to See in N.Y.C. Galleries in December
• Missy Magazine, Qualeasha Wood combines traditional crafts, queer craft and digital elements in contrasting tapestries
• Cultured Magazine, For Artist Qualeasha Wood, A Met Acquisition Was a Blessing and a Curse
• The Guardian, “I don’t worry about holding back’ – how Qualeasha Wood turned being doxed into wild tapestries“
• artnet, Buzzy Artist Qualeasha Wood’s Multilayered Tapestries Explore What It Means to Be Black, Queer, and ‘Chronically Online’
• L’OFFICIEL, Artist Qualeasha Wood on Representation and its Impact on Identity
• DSCENE, God Is a Young Hot Ebony: Exclusive Interview With Artist Qualeasha Wood
• Mousse Magazine, Qualeasha Wood “Manic Pixie Magical Negro” at Kendra Jayne Patrick, New York
• The Evening Standard, London’s New Power Art List
• DAZED, These extremely online tapestries take you on a journey through cyberspace by Zoe Whitfield
2022 • Mousse Magazine, Black Millennial Femmehood: Qualeasha Wood by Alexandra Thomas
• Artsy, The Artsy Vanguard 2022
• Essence Magazine, Leader’s of the New Art World
• Harper’s Bazaar, Icons Issue, 2022
• Curbed, Qualeasha Wood Wants to Get Crab Legs with Cardi B
• Observer, Observer’s Slambook: Artist Qualeasha Wood on Ethically Colonizing Mars
• Frieze, A Black History of Art: Alayo Akinkugbe's Highlights from Frieze London and Frieze Masters 2022
• W Mag, Qualeasha Wood Weaves Cyberculture Into Tapestries
• Artnet, Textile Artists Are Back in the Public Spotlight in Museums and Galleries. Art Collectors? They’re Still Catching Up
• Art Review, The Subversive Power of Quilts, Legacy Russell on ‘The New Bend’
• WePresent, Qualeasha Wood: Intricate tapestries depicting online experiences by Allyssia Alleyne
2021 • 4Columns, Black Femme by Aruna D’Souza
• The New Yorker, Black Femme: Sovereign of WAP and the Virtual Realm by Andrea K. Scott
• Observer, Black Femme: Sovereign of WAP and the Virtual Realm’ Shines at Canada Gallery by Yume Murphy
• The Provincetown Independent, At Just 24, Qualeasha Wood Brings Textiles Into 2021 by Susannah Elisabeth Fulcher
• Observer, ‘Digital Legacies 2.0’ Honors the Cultural Impact of Black Women and Nonbinary People” by Helen Holmes
• artnet, The Class of 2021: Meet 6 Fast-Rising Artists Having Star Turns at This Year’s Art Basel Miami Beach by artnet Editors
• ARTNews, First-Time Exhibitors Shine at Art Basel Miami Beach as Selection Committee Pushes to Diversify by Alex Greenberger
2020 • Gallery Talk, DOUBLE TAP #17, Qualeasha Wood, by Anna Meinecke
• Broadway World, NADA Miami 2020 Concludes In-Person and Online Fair with Diverse International Presentations, Dynamic Programming and High Viewership by BWW News Desk
2019• Artdose Magazine
Gluon Gallery, Levee Contemporary, OS Projects – Vol 29 by Rachel Hausmann Schall
• Art Viewer, A Complete Change of Form Into a More Beautiful Or Spiritual State at COOPER COLE
• The Brown Daily Herald, RISD Show Challenges Gallery Structures by Divya Maniar
2017• Bluestockings Mag, Creating While Black: An Interview with Qualeasha Wood by Osun Taylor
•Hyperallergic - Qualeasha Wood Weaves the Online into IRL, by Izzy DeSantis
• The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Philly artist sharing space with Jean-Michel Basquiat in an ongoing Brooklyn Museum show.
• Vanity Fair, The secrets of Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz’s museum-ready art collection.
• Art Basel, Creating new rituals for a world in flux.
• The Art Institute of Chicago, The Alchemy of Weaving
2023 • Galerie, Fast-Rising Artist Qualeasha Wood Blends Textural Fuzziness with Digital Frenzy
• The New York Times, What to See in N.Y.C. Galleries in December
• Missy Magazine, Qualeasha Wood combines traditional crafts, queer craft and digital elements in contrasting tapestries
• Cultured Magazine, For Artist Qualeasha Wood, A Met Acquisition Was a Blessing and a Curse
• The Guardian, “I don’t worry about holding back’ – how Qualeasha Wood turned being doxed into wild tapestries“
• artnet, Buzzy Artist Qualeasha Wood’s Multilayered Tapestries Explore What It Means to Be Black, Queer, and ‘Chronically Online’
• L’OFFICIEL, Artist Qualeasha Wood on Representation and its Impact on Identity
• DSCENE, God Is a Young Hot Ebony: Exclusive Interview With Artist Qualeasha Wood
• Mousse Magazine, Qualeasha Wood “Manic Pixie Magical Negro” at Kendra Jayne Patrick, New York
• The Evening Standard, London’s New Power Art List
• DAZED, These extremely online tapestries take you on a journey through cyberspace by Zoe Whitfield
2022 • Mousse Magazine, Black Millennial Femmehood: Qualeasha Wood by Alexandra Thomas
• Artsy, The Artsy Vanguard 2022
• Essence Magazine, Leader’s of the New Art World
• Harper’s Bazaar, Icons Issue, 2022
• Curbed, Qualeasha Wood Wants to Get Crab Legs with Cardi B
• Observer, Observer’s Slambook: Artist Qualeasha Wood on Ethically Colonizing Mars
• Frieze, A Black History of Art: Alayo Akinkugbe's Highlights from Frieze London and Frieze Masters 2022
• W Mag, Qualeasha Wood Weaves Cyberculture Into Tapestries
• Artnet, Textile Artists Are Back in the Public Spotlight in Museums and Galleries. Art Collectors? They’re Still Catching Up
• Art Review, The Subversive Power of Quilts, Legacy Russell on ‘The New Bend’
• WePresent, Qualeasha Wood: Intricate tapestries depicting online experiences by Allyssia Alleyne
2021 • 4Columns, Black Femme by Aruna D’Souza
• The New Yorker, Black Femme: Sovereign of WAP and the Virtual Realm by Andrea K. Scott
• Observer, Black Femme: Sovereign of WAP and the Virtual Realm’ Shines at Canada Gallery by Yume Murphy
• The Provincetown Independent, At Just 24, Qualeasha Wood Brings Textiles Into 2021 by Susannah Elisabeth Fulcher
• Observer, ‘Digital Legacies 2.0’ Honors the Cultural Impact of Black Women and Nonbinary People” by Helen Holmes
• artnet, The Class of 2021: Meet 6 Fast-Rising Artists Having Star Turns at This Year’s Art Basel Miami Beach by artnet Editors
• ARTNews, First-Time Exhibitors Shine at Art Basel Miami Beach as Selection Committee Pushes to Diversify by Alex Greenberger
2020 • Gallery Talk, DOUBLE TAP #17, Qualeasha Wood, by Anna Meinecke
• Broadway World, NADA Miami 2020 Concludes In-Person and Online Fair with Diverse International Presentations, Dynamic Programming and High Viewership by BWW News Desk
2019• Artdose Magazine
Gluon Gallery, Levee Contemporary, OS Projects – Vol 29 by Rachel Hausmann Schall
• Art Viewer, A Complete Change of Form Into a More Beautiful Or Spiritual State at COOPER COLE
• The Brown Daily Herald, RISD Show Challenges Gallery Structures by Divya Maniar
2017• Bluestockings Mag, Creating While Black: An Interview with Qualeasha Wood by Osun Taylor