“My practice is an alchemy of absence and presence.
A search for the ‘void’ where space, time, and matter converge.
Each thread, knot, or woven void is a meditation on interconnection:
how plants, minerals, animals, and humans share a sensory language. “
Patrizia Polese is an international fiber artist who specializes in contemporary tapestry and the art of weaving.
Through her work, Polese seeks to awaken awareness of the truth of non-separation between the self and the environment,
and how individual perception shapes the composition and connection of everything. Her use of different media, including two and three-dimensional weaving, experiential installation, drawing, and photography, constructs a common language among all things
Dino Zoli Foundation Catalogue
The Dino Zoli Foundation presents the catalogue Trame Esplorative Explorative Wefts, an exhibition that offers a journey through the evolution of contemporary tapestry in Italy, with forays into European and non-European contexts. Spanning from the 1950s to the present day, the exhibition highlights how this textile medium—traditionally regarded as a decorative art—has become an innovative and multifaceted form of expression, capable of weaving together stories,
cultures, and techniques.
In the “Extra” section, two of the latests tapestries work “Millions Come from the Sea” by Patrizia Polese
Vanilla Edizioni
Article Elle Weekly - 28 march 2025
«Perdersi nelle trame che si legano e si separano… è quasi una metafora della vita». “To lose oneself in the weaves that bind and unravel… is almost a metaphor for life.”
Article on the art of weaving by Patrizia Polese, featured in Elle Weekly, curated by Roberta Angelini
Denim Premier Vision Milan - December 2024
“The action weaving ‘From Denim Waste to Fiber Weave’ conceived by Patrizia Polese with Denim Première Vision and Tessitura La Colombina—transformed scraps into participatory art. Visitors collected denim remnants from the exhibition hall atrium and delivered them to Polese, who wove them live on a 4-meter loom fitted with hand-dyed warp threads. Through this collective synergy, waste became an immersive experience: every individual gesture rippled into a wave of change, ultimately generating an indigo tapestry alive with vibrant hues.”
Photo credit Andrea Gottardi
Workshop and Lecture at the University of Illinois
Invitation of the School of Art and Design and the European Union Center at the ILLINOIS University of Urbana-Champaign to conduct her Interlaced workshops “Art as a Means of Fostering Human Potential” and public Lecture at The Krannert Art Museum
Workshop “Art as a Means of Fostering Human Potential”
A site-specific project that provides hands-on learning and experimentation in fiber art.
Students will have the opportunity to experiment with different materials and use textile language to express their personal stories. Additionally, the workshop will promote the use of natural fibers, textiles waste, and unconventional materials by giving them a new meaning through repurposing Each woven piece will be then joined together to form a larger common tapestry. The collective tapestry will be displayed during a final exhibition open to the campus and community.
Lecture at The Krannert Art Museum
The lecture will offer valuable insights into the creative process and therole of art in addressing contemporary issues, making it relevant to our students and the campus community. It will explore how the historical influence of thread, weaving, and tapestries has shaped Polese’s research and provide context for her work.
The artwork 'Present': A Permanent Installation on Sustainability for Unipol
Polese’s research for innovative materials drives her to confront environmental and social sustainability issues, bringing art into real estate as a device for urban regeneration. In 2022, she was among the speakers of the “BEGREEN” talk, an event organized by Gruppo Unipol focusing on making sustainability for future cities.
Polese’s work “Present,” is a starting point of reflection on environmental issues and the relationship between humanity and nature, a symbol of the social and climatic ambivalence of our days. “Present” has become a permanent artwork in the building at Via de De Castilla 23 in Milan, owned by Gruppo Unipol.
The Human Jungle: A Site-Specific Installation for AXA in the Vetra Building
During the 2022 design week, Polese created “The Human Jungle,” a site-specific experiential installation placed in the hall of the Vetra Building, the building of the AXA IM Group, designed in collaboration with Interface, integrating the use of Econyl® yarn, regenerated from fishing nets recovered from the seabed.
The artwork is made of many threads which recall the dense foliage of a jungle, an invitation to enter and get lost inside the tangle.
It is an experiential journey that creates an initial disorientation which leads to self-discovery, bringing out more humanity as well as an awareness of the surronding natural elements. The work is a sensory, olfactory, tactile and visual path that envelops and reactivates the senses of those who pass through it.
Dynamo
Camp
“Patrizia Polese participated in Dynamo Art Factory—a project integrating art as a tool for
social inclusion and recreational therapy for children/adolescents with serious illnesses.
The initiative engages contemporary artists to create workshops tailored to participants’ special needs, transforming art into a cathartic, collective experience.
In 2019, Polese designed ‘Resilienza’ (Resilience), a workshop dedicated to the parents of children hosted at the camp. Over three sessions, 15 parents experimented with traditional weaving techniques. Guiding participants to explore textile gestures as metaphors for care and resilience, Polese reframed handcrafting as a meditative, regenerative practice. The resulting artworks were later exhibited at the Milan Triennale during the ‘L’arte è wow!’ (Art is Wow!) show.
Polese’s Dynamo Camp project reshaped weaving into a bridge between inner healing and community, leaving a lasting imprint on the organization’s therapeutic model.”
