paulina berczynski

Work         About         Contact        Feral Fabric

About
Artist Statement
CV




Education

2016 MFA in Fine Arts. California College of the Arts, San Francisco, CA.
1997 BFA in Communication Design. Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA.



Long Term Projects

2024  Around the Tablecloth
A series of meetings combining embroidery and conversations about mental health. Berlin, Germany and Wrocław, Poland

2023  The Trzepak
Community textile workshops and social sculpture. Łódż, Poland

2018-2024  Feral Fabric Story Quilts
A narrative quilt project with people experiencing homelessness in the San Francisco Bay Area, California. In partnership with Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS) Family Shelter in Berkeley and BOSS temporary shelter Hayward, Raphael House Family Homeless Shelter in San Francisco, The Village Pop-up Free Stores Oakland, Punks With Lunch, Oakland, Women’s Daytime Drop-In Center, Berkeley, Here/There Camp on the Berkeley/Oakland border.

2018-2024  Feral Fabric Journal
An online scholarly periodical dedicated to radical textiles in art, activism, and social movements, and of the related print publication released in 2024.

2018-2021  Feral Fabric Workshops
2021 Back Patch Workshop (virtual), Scrap Creative Reuse, San Francisco
2021 Back Patch Workshop (virtual), Berkeley Art Museum, Berkeley
2020 Community Banner, Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley
2019 Back Patch Workshop, NIAD Art Center, Richmond
2019 Community Textile Workshops, Sunday Streets, San Francisco
2019 Banner Workshop, May Day workers event, Frank Ogawa Plaza, Oakland
2018 Banner Workshop, Oakland Pride Parade, Frank Ogawa Plaza, Oakland
2018 Back Patch Workshop, Figment, Oakland
2018 Back Patch and Banner Workshop, Berkeley Art Museum, Berkeley

2004-2022 FluffyCo
FluffyCo was a San Francisco-based sustainable lifestyle and fashion brand. It was distributed through 300+ independent shops and chain retailers primarily in the US and Canada but also in Japan, Australia, and Europe. Creative collaborations included Target, Urban Outfitters, ModCloth and Crate&Barrel. Roles: owner, creative director, design, project management, production. FluffyCo later morphed into the ecommerce site Wavy Matter which also sold sustainably-made products by other independent companies and makers.



Participatory and Site Specific

2024    Quiet Time  Open Air Super 8 projection and string game workshop. Berlin
2023    We Can Be Heroes  Cape-Making workshop. ZuHaus, Berlin
2021    Community Banner  High Desert Test Sites HQ. Sky Village Swap Meet, Yucca Valley, CA
2019    Encounters  Participatory, Experimental Art Weekends, Nevada City, CA
2018    Swap Meet Story Quilt. High Desert Test Sites HQ. Sky Village Swap Meet, Yucca Valley, CA
2017    Being There.  High Desert Test Sites HQ. Sky Village Swap Meet, Yucca Valley, CA
2017    Wind Blanket  JT Lab. Joshua Tree National Park, CA
2015    Flag Zine. Green River, Utah


Exhibitions

(selected)

2025    The Star. Solo. HB55 Kunstfabrik, Berlin
2025    Sleep. HB55 Kunstfabrik, Berlin
2024    Margarine Collective.  HB55 Kunstfabrik, Berlin
2022    Feral Fabric Story Quilts. Solo. Pro-Arts, Oakland
2020    Feral Fabric Snake Banner & The Workshop. Solo. Berkeley Art Center
2017    PATA Kobro Gallery, Akademia Sztuk Pieknych, Łódź, Poland
2016    Capes and Knock Offs. Solo. Vacation, San Francisco
2016    After Pop Life Curated by Glen Helfland. Minnesota Street Project, SF
2016    Home. Pro Arts Gallery, Oakland
2016    California College of the Arts. MFA Exhibition, Minnesota Street Project
2015    Technophilia. Embark Gallery, SF



Awards, Grants, Commissions

2024    AIRZusa: What’s Next Residency. Berlin, Germany
2023    Prelinger Library, San Francisco. For research on utopias and intentional communities
2022    Fulbright Program Grant. Łódż, Poland
2022    Southern Exposure: Alternative Exposure Grant for Feral Fabric Journal. SF Bay Area.
2020    City of Berkeley Individual Artist Grant for Feral Fabric Story Quilts. Berkeley, CA.
2020    Commission: Berkeley Art Center Feral Fabric Community Snake Banner. Berkeley, CA.
2014    Merit Scholarship, California College of the Arts. 2 years. San Francisco.
2015    Travel Grant. California College of the Arts. San Francisco



Lectures and Academic

2023    Lecture: The Trzepak. Academy of Fine Arts, Łódż, Poland.
2023    Lecture: Textiles, Nature and Place. University of the Arts, Poznań, Poland
2022    Lecture: Contemporary American Textiles. University of the Arts, Poznań, Poland
2017    Guest Alumni Critic. California College of the Arts, San Francisco
2016    Guest Lecturer, Textiles department. California College of the Arts, San Francisco
2016    Teaching Assistant. California College of the Arts, San Francisco : New Media
2015    Teaching Assistant. California College of the Arts, San Francisco : Textiles
2011    Guest Lecturer. ModCloth Academy, San Francisco



Writing

2024    Community through Camo: Weaving War Nets for the Ukrainian Front. FF Journal, Volume 7
2021    Sheila Klein on Functional Fabrics, Architecture, and Singing the Same Tune. FF Journal, Volume 5
2021    Exhibition review: Rosie Lee Tompkins at BAM/PFA. Textile: A Journal of Cloth and Culture, UK
2021    Social Action Considered Through the Language of Textiles. FF Journal, Volume 3
2020    Radical Excess: the Art and Life of Bill Bowers. Feral Fabric Journal, Volume 1



Publications & Press (selected)

2020    Sharing your Practice: Curriculum by Lukaza Branfman-Verrisimo for Berkeley Art Museum
2018    Going Feral with Fabric by Lou Fancher. The East Bay Monthly
2018    Amanda Walters and Paulina Berczynski go Feral with Fabric by Lou Fancher. Alameda Magazine
2013    The Bay, Creators of Style by Liz Caruana
2012    InStyle Magazine - FluffyCo
2008    Design*Sponge.com - FluffyCo multiple mentions 2008-2012)
2008    Elle Magazine - FluffyCo






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