Carolyn Kallenborn works with textiles, light and space to create sculptural works, set designs, video and installations. Her work has been shown at the PolyTechnic Institute of Hong Kong China, the Textile Museum of Oaxaca, Mexico, in Beijing, China; Cheong-ju, Korea; the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art in Arizona; Wayne Art Gallery, Detroit; and other shows and galleries in St. Louis, Chicago, Atlanta and Cambridge, Mass. In addition, her work has been featured in such magazines as Fiberarts, Surface Design Journal and Shuttle Spindle and Dyepot.

 

Each year, Kallenborn spends time in the central valleys of Oaxaca, Mexico where she works with traditional and contemporary artists. She has worked on multiple design and teaching collaborations with Oaxacan textile artists and the Museo Textil de Oaxaca. The inspiration for her own artwork comes from the rich exchange of ideas and culture with the artists and craftsmen in Oaxaca.

 

In addition to installations and exhibitions, Kallenborn is the creator and producer of two documentary films.  Woven Lives, is an internationally acclaimed  documentary film that celebrates the art of Zapotec weavers in Oaxaca, Mexico. The film was released in 2011 and continues to be been shown in museums, universities and conferences all over the world.  She recently completed La Vida y Los Muertos, a “silent” art film creating a sensory journey through Day of the Dead in Oaxaca.

 

Kallenborn is a professor in Design Studies department of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, U.S.A  Before coming to Madison, Kallenborn was an Assistant Professor in the Fiber Department of the Kansas City Art Institute for from 2001- 2007. She served as conference coordinator for the 2005 and 2007 Surface Design Association’s International Textile Conferences. She received her BS and MFA in Textile Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.