Origin: Tokyo, Japan
Currently Exhibiting in: New York City
Website: genevabergelt.com
Social Media: Instagram
Bio:
Geneva Bergelt is a multifaceted artist whose work weaves together material exploration, cultural narratives, and community connection. Her practice is deeply rooted in the tactile, with fibers, textures, and 3D forms serving as the primary language through which she tells stories of place, identity, and shared experience. Bergelt’s creative journey is shaped by her time living abroad in Asia and Europe, where she immersed herself in the diverse traditions and histories that continue to influence her work. Her background in creating immersive environments informs her passion for fabrication and materials, blending traditional techniques with contemporary storytelling.
With exhibitions spanning New York City, London, and China, Bergelt’s work speaks to the power of collective memory and the interwoven nature of human experiences. Each piece is a map—textured, layered, and dynamic—reflecting the unseen connections that bind communities and individuals. Her practice emphasizes accessibility, with the belief that art should not only enrich but also create spaces for connection and dialogue.
Featured Artwork at Bushwick Gallery
Putnam, Soul (Series: Cocoons & Canoes)
- Year of Creation: 2025
- Medium: Fiber
- Dimensions: ~34”w x 22”d x 50”h
- Price: $28,000 USD
Description:
Putnam, Soul is a fiber-based sculpture from Bergelt’s Cocoons & Canoes series, a poetic exploration of heritage, belonging, and community. Created using crocheted cotton clothesline, the piece is both tactile and symbolic, evoking the interwoven lives and stories of Queens and Brooklyn communities. Its form, resembling a cocoon or a vessel, suggests protection, transformation, and the shared human experience of growth and vulnerability.
The structure’s soft, looping forms are meticulously crafted, yet they retain an organic and flowing quality—like stories told around a fire or whispered between generations. The texture speaks to the complexity of memory and collective identity, while the material—simple yet significant—grounds the work in everyday human connection. Through its intricate weaving and organic presence, Putnam, Soul is a testament to the power of human resilience, love, and interconnectedness.
Exhibition Information
Exhibition Title: Love and Heartbreak: A Duality
Opening Reception: Thursday, February 13 / 6PM-8PM
Exhibition Dates: February 13 – February 20
Theme: Love and Heartbreak: A Duality explores the emotional landscape of human relationships, from unity to separation and everything in between. Bergelt’s Putnam, Soul perfectly embodies this theme, offering a sculptural representation of love as a binding force and the vulnerability inherent in its unraveling. The piece’s looping fibers and interconnected textures mirror the fragility and strength of human bonds, inviting viewers to reflect on their own connections to others and the larger communities they inhabit.
Guided audio experience
For accessibility, the full video transcript is provided below for those who prefer to read or are unable to listen.
“What does it mean to be held—to be wrapped in the memories, stories, and love of those who came before us? In Putnam, Soul, Geneva Bergelt invites reflection on the ways people are bound to one another, not just by lineage, but by the invisible threads of community, history, and shared experience.”
“This fiber-based sculpture, part of Bergelt’s Cocoons & Canoes series, is a vessel of memory. At first glance, its soft, undulating loops feel familiar—like the comforting weave of an heirloom blanket, the gentle pull of a hand-knit thread. But beneath the surface lies intricate tension, a delicate balance between form and fluidity. Like a cocoon, it represents transformation. Like a canoe, it suggests journey—movement across time, across cultures, across the vast and intimate distances that define relationships.”
“Bergelt’s choice of material—a crocheted cotton clothesline—is intentional. Something ordinary, something domestic. Yet, in her hands, it becomes extraordinary, a symbol of resilience and care. The very act of weaving, looping, and constructing echoes the ways connection is built: through stories told over meals, through hands stitching fabric, through quiet acts of love that endure beyond generations.”
“In Putnam, Soul, the lines do not simply wrap around one another—they intertwine, they knot, they stretch and pull, embodying the complexities of human bonds. Some connections hold firm. Others fray and unravel. But all leave an imprint, a memory woven into the fabric of existence.”
“As this work stands before you, consider personal connections—who has shaped you? What ties remain, and which ones have begun to loosen? In love, in loss, in the inescapable pull of community, everyone is part of an intricate weaving, a collective cocoon. And in the spaces between each fiber, echoes of the souls that remain endure.”