FRANCESCA CAPONE // A Mother’s Discourse: Reading Room

On view in the Project Room July 20–September 6, 2026
Reading and reception TBA

Opening this summer in the Project Room, A Mother's Discourse: Reading Room continues Francesca Capone's ongoing body of work on motherhood, care, and collective knowledge through textiles and language.

The exhibition centers on two new pieces commissioned for Oregon Contemporary's 2026 Artists' Biennial, curated by TK Smith, whose framing highlighted the work's longstanding engagement with the politics of care and reproductive justice. As Smith asks: "Do women and birthing people in the United States have autonomy over their own bodies? Are women empowered and given the resources necessary to safely raise their children? How does our culture cultivate caregivers—and who cares for those tasked with caring for us?"

Also on view is the library of books that informs Capone's ongoing research. Conceived as a reading room, the space invites visitors to slow down, sit, read, and rest, suggesting that the simple act of spending time with ideas can itself be a form of care. A public reading will be announced during the exhibition.

Francesca Capone is a visual artist, writer, and textile designer. She holds an MFA in Interdisciplinary Literary Arts from Brown University (2015) and a BFA in Textiles from Rhode Island School of Design (2009). Her books Weaving Language (2015, 2018, and 2022), Woven Places (2018), Text means Tissue (2017), and Writing in Threads (2015) focus on textile poetics. Her work has been exhibited at Oregon Contemporary and Nationale in Portland, OR, Whitechapel Gallery in London, LUMA/Westbau in Switzerland, Textile Arts Center in New York City, NOON Projects in Los Angeles, and 99¢ Plus Gallery in Brooklyn. Capone has been an artist in residence at the Anni and Josef Albers Foundation, Andrea Zittel's A-Z West, and the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. More of her published work can be found at Gauss PDF, Tunica Magazine, and in The New Concrete from Hayward Press. Her academic work includes lectures and workshops at Brown University, Rhode Island School of Design, Leeds Beckett University, Reed College, University of Washington, and Alberta College of Art and Design, among others.

To receive a Collectors’ Preview, please fill in the form below. Thank you!