Erin M. Riley

Erin M. Riley is a contemporary American textile artist best known for her hand-woven tapestries that confront themes of intimacy, trauma, sexuality, and vulnerability. Using traditional weaving techniques on a floor loom, she translates images—often drawn from personal archives, social media, or found photos—into richly detailed, large-scale works. Her pieces depict raw subjects like self-portraits, car crashes, and everyday objects, blending domestic craft with candid explorations of modern life and feminist narratives. By using a medium historically tied to women’s labor, Riley reclaims tapestry as a space for autobiography and social critique, bridging the personal and the political in striking, tactile form.