Kimberly Joy Trathen

kimberly joy trathen (she/her) is a visual artist living and working in a small town in the mountains of west virginia called thomas. she works mostly in textile and fiber mediums to explore themes of healing, loss, grief, repair and restoration. her work is strongly rooted in practices of reuse and ethical consumption and traverses art forms including bag/accessory design and creation, reclaimed leather compositions, abstract drawings, and intricate thread installations. her work emphasizes the possibility of growth and transformation through the interplay of color, texture and design.

kimberly received her bfa in music from michigan state university and her masters degree in cultural anthropology from katholieke universiteit leuven. she remains closely connected with belgium, having worked in the fashion studio of eric beauduin for many years. she is the co-founder of two artistic initiatives in thomas: gradient projects – an artist-run project space and studio holler – a collaborative textile studio. she also co-manages an artist-run gallery called invisible.