ABOUT
born 1990
Maggie Hensel-Brown is an Australian artist, working predominantly in needle lace techniques.
She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Newcastle in 2014, and in the same year opened The Workroom, a small gallery and workspace as a part of the Renew Newcastle initiative. She worked there for two years as director and curator.
In 2015, Hensel-Brown took a class in Reticella at the annual general conference of the Australian Lace Guild. Since then her practice has been dedicated entirely to lace making. She has travelled and studied needle lace in England, Italy, the United States, the Netherlands, and all around Australia.
Her lace takes techniques from various needle traditions to create contemporary imagery. Inspired by classical pictorial needle lace panels, Hensel-Brown’s work tells stories of the most mundane parts of her life: experiencing the highs and lows of the contemporary world.
Since she started in 2015, her works have been recognised globally as significant pieces of lace. Her works have been exhibited widely throughout Australia and the United States. Most notably in the Lace, Not Lace exhibition at the Hunterdon Art Museum, New Jersey USA, Seeing Red at the Lockup gallery NSW, Home is more than a place, Hamilton Gallery VIC, and the upcoming Tamworth Textile Triennial in September 2023.
Her works feature in the collections of the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney NSW, and The Denver Art Museum in Denver Colorado.
Hensel-Brown also teaches regular classes in person and online and is a frequent educator and panelist at lace making conferences and universities including the Festival of Lace in Sydney, 2021, the Doily Free Zone digital conference in 2021, Wisconsin University in 2021, and Threads of Power at the Bard Graduate Center in New York in 2022.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023 Thread Through: Artbau Gallery, Brookvale NSW
2016 Vanderbilt’s Tablecloth: Maitland Regional Gallery, NSW
GROUPS EXHIBITIONS
2024 Laced: Australian Design Centre, NSW
2023 Tamworth Textile Triennial: Residue, Response: Travelling exhibition
2022 Female Drivers: Maitland Regional Art Gallery, NSW
2021 Highlights from the Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection: University of Wisconsin, WI, USA
2021 Home Is More Than A Place: Hamilton Gallery, VIC
2021 Thread Studios: Denver Art Museum, CO, USA
2021 Makers Space: Brenda May Gallery, NSW
2021 Festival of Lace: Gallery 76, NSW
2019 I’m Going Through Changes: Onwards Studio, NSW
2018 Lace, Not Lace: Hunterdon Art Museum, NJ, USA
2018 Seeing Red: The Lockup Artspace, NSW
RESIDENCIES + PUBLIC APPEARANCES
2023 Guest Lecturer, Rhode Island School of Design RI USA
2023 Guest Teacher, Denver Art Museum CO, USA
2022 Keynote Speaker, Threads of Power, Bard Graduate Center, NY, USA
2021 Guest speaker, Festival of Lace conference, Gallery 76, NSW
2021 Guest speaker, The Overshare. University of Wisconsin, WI, USA
2021 Artist in residence, Makers Space: Brenda May Gallery, NSW
2021 Panellist and tutor, Doily Free Zone International lace making conference
2020 Featured digital artist, Los Angeles Review of Books CA, USA
2016 Featured artist, Living Cultures Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery NSW
PUBLICATIONS
2023 “Lacework” Art Works Season 3, Episode 11. ABC TV
2020/2021 Lace, Labour and Female Rage: Anna Dunnill, Art Guide Australia DEC/ JAN issue.
2020 Maggie Hensel-Brown: When Meme Culture and 16th Century Needlework Collide: Natalya Konforti, Glitches and Stitches, OCT issue
Education
2014 Bachelor of Fine Arts, University of Newcastle. 2013: Advanced Diploma of Fine Art, TAFE NSW
COLLECTIONS
Tamworth Regional Gallery, NSW: Not Useful, Not Beautiful.
Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences (Sydney Powerhouse Museum) NSW: Quarantine self portrait I: Lying, Scrolling and Caving to Temptation
Denver Art Museum, Colorado: Perched on the Perch of Adulthood, Terrified of What’s Below. Mortgages, Cars and Scary Snakes, Probably.