Barbara Grenell: Mountain Tapestries
On view through October 11, 2026
Blowing Rock Art & History
Blowing Rock, North Carolina
www.blowingrockmuseum.org
Barbara Grenell (1944–2001) was a North Carolina–based fiber artist whose tapestries distill the landscapes of Western North Carolina into spare, quietly resonant compositions. This focused installation highlights Grenell’s mastery of tapestry weaving as both image and process—landscapes translated into layered horizons, earthy palettes, and subtle shifts in weave structure that create painterly surfaces. Her work reflects the agrarian and mountainous terrain surrounding her Burnsville studio while remaining firmly aligned with broader late-twentieth-century developments in contemporary fiber art.
Presented in dialogue with BRAHM’s “Take Up: Intergenerational Weaving” initiative, funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and developed in collaboration with Watauga County Project on Aging, the installation situates Grenell’s practice within a living lineage of Appalachian weaving, emphasizing the transmission of skill, memory, and place across generations.
[Image: Barbara Grenell, October Evening, 1989. Wool, linen, and cotton rug warp. 24 x 96 x 2 in. Gift of Judy & Bill Watson, BRAHM Permanent Collection 2025.007.001.]
