Karin Tuck Petersen

Austin, Texas

Karin Tuck Petersen creates captivating abstract fiber pieces that give a pop of color and movement to any wall.

Karin Tuck Petersen is a fiber artist living in Austin, TX. She received her BFA at Otis College of Art and Design, in Los Angeles, CA and is now a Studio Member at Contracommon in Austin, TX.

Says Petersen, "As a mother, I am drawn to the ideas of nurture and shelter, expressed through the creation of nests, habitats, and organs, which are symbols of care, protection, and survival.

I am a fiber artist focusing on soft sculptures with themes of anatomy, preservation, sustainability, and fertility. Nests, wombs, and limbs are all connective tissue formed by a mother to be protected.

Historically, the act of sewing and quilting has been the responsibility of women, a job of endurance, comfort, and care. The irregular patchwork of the pieces symbolize the body as a complex vessel.

Using upcycled textiles, I explore the ideas of nesting and protection through sewing, ripping, knotting, and weaving, and manipulating forms into organic shapes resembling vessels, limbs, and organs.

Fragments of fabric are slashed, ripped, and sewn together, mimicking the act of both destruction and repair. The seams that hold them are visible, deliberate, and imperfect, with a focus on mending.

Committed to conservation and environmental issues, I use repurposed materials with sustainability in mind for our next generations. My sculptures are reimagined into new forms resembling wombs, body parts, and nests. Some forms are anchored firmly to the wall evoking a stoic surrender, while some forms sway, thinking about hope or loss; to explore the intersection of fragility, resilience, and how bodies are manipulated.

My art focuses on the grandeur and fragility of the body, emphasising the mysticism of the form being altered, ripped, and repaired, in an ever-changing structure. Thinking about nurture, my work encompasses the duality of protection and destruction, with an emphasis on the fragility of reproduction. My work holds space for sadness, hope, and renewal."

Her recent exhibitions have been in locations as varied as New York City, Bee Cave, TX, Austin, TX, Chautauqua, NY, and Round Rock, TX.

Her work has been featured in the book Wilder Roam 002, and recent publications include Voyage Austin and Canvas Rebel. She attended the Chautauqua Visual Arts Residency at Chautauqua Institute in 2024, the Willow House Summer Residency in Terlingua, TX, in 2025. She is a member of the 2025 NYC Crit Club/Canopy program.

"Art is honesty. Art is a way to unfold what hides in the corners of my mind. Creativity is what feeds my soul, and using my hands to manipulate materials engages my entire being."