Tara Eales

From Sydney, Australia, Tara Eales is a new kid on the textile art scene in Austin. Eales’ sculptures incorporate mindfully sourced decorative fabrics and quirky trim honouring her 20 year long involvement in the fashion industry. Eales’ experience in fashion design, apparel production and education, is recognised in each and every piece. Her love of textiles – the colour, the pattern, the texture and the origin – is clearly demonstrated in her contemporary sculptures. Upcycling is central to her process, incorporating designer off cuts, deconstructed garments, leather trims, found objects and costume like embellishments. Eales values retaining elements of the original materials allowing them to be seen both as they were and as what they have become. For Eales, art is a form of free play, reconnecting her with the uninhibited creativity of childhood.

Through her work, she invites viewers to find joy in the unexpected, to embrace transformation and to appreciate the beauty in imperfection. Eales’ inspiration is eclectic: Jeff Koons for his exuberance and the celebration of youth; Takashi Murakami for his not so subtle love affair with pattern and colour; Sarah Lucus for her irreverence; Akira Isogawa for his fascination with fabric; and, Romance Was Born for their addiction to colour and wild patterns.