EDUCATION
2023 MFA, California State University, Long Beach, CA
1980 BS, Business Administration, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA
UPCOMING EXHIBITION
2025 Swing Shift, Irvine Fine Art Center, Irvine, CA
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023 Love is Metaphysical Gravity, Dutzi Gallery, Long Beach, CA
2021 Intersecting Matter, Matter Studio Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2016 Woven Metal, Laemmle NoHo, North Hollywood, CA
2014 The Gamcha Project, Showcase Gallery, Al Quoz, Dubai, UAE
2012 Hope, Joy and Survival, Tala Gallery, Al Quoz, Dubai, UAE
2007 The Passion of Women, Center for the Arts, Sebastopol, CA
GROUP EXHIBITIONS (selected)
2025 California Fibers: Form and Texture, Coastline Art Gallery, Newport Beach, CA
2025 Fabulous Fibers, Oceanside Museum of Art, Oceanside, CA
2025 Basketry Now 2025, Textile Center, Minneapolis, MN
2025 Timeless Textiles, Peters Valley School of Craft, Layton, NJ
2025 9x9: Contemporary Quilts & Containers, PV Art Center, Palos Verdes, CA
2024 CraftForms 2024, Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA
2024 Embracing the Unexpected, Surface Design Association, Exhibition in Print
2024 Over Under Over, Citrus College Art Gallery, Glendora, CA
2024 Pattern & Design, Shoebox Projects, Los Angeles, CA
2023 Threads That Bind, Brea Gallery / Muzeo, Brea, CA
2023 Influences/Influencers, Craft in America, Los Angeles, CA
2023 Now Trending, Palos Verdes Art Center, Palos Verdes, CA
2022 Future Tense, Surface Design Association, Online Exhibition
2022 Insights 2022, Werby Gallery, Long Beach, CA
2022 Fiber Club Exhibition, Dutzi Gallery, Long Beach, CA
2022 Fabulous Fiber, bG Gallery, Bergamot Station, Santa Monica, CA
2022 Connectivity: GLAMFA, Werby Gallery, Long Beach, CA
2021 Tricksters and Transformation, Helm’s Design Center, Los Angeles, CA
2020 Art + Activism: Art of the Issues, SoLA Contemporary, Los Angeles, CA
2020 Explorations, Colburn School, Los Angeles, CA
2019 Materiality & Method: A Small Works Fiber Exhibition, Long Beach, CA
2019 Transformation: Fiber as Medium, The Common Thread Gallery, Online
2018 California, Melanee Cooper Gallery, Chicago, IL
2018 Art Speaks: Lend Your Voice, Arena 1 Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2018 Interplay, SoLA Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2018 World of Threads, Queen Elizabeth Cultural Centre, Toronto, Canada
2018 Council House Art Gallery, NCJW/LA, Los Angeles, CA
2018 39 Contemporary Crafts, Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum, Mesa, AZ
2018 Malibu Masters, Tracy Park Gallery, Malibu, CA
2018 Revised, Reformatted, Renewed, Juanita Salazar Lowe Gallery, Imperial, CA
2018 One Year of Resistance, The Untitled Space, New York, NY
2017 Strings Attached, Coastline Art Gallery, Newport Beach, CA
2017 StudioEleven, The Neutra Institute Museum and Gallery, Silver Lake, CA
2017 Out There, LAAA / Gallery 825, Los Angeles, CA
2017 Packed With Color, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Austin, TX
2017 PCH Pop-Up, Tracy Park Gallery, Malibu, CA
2014 DIFC Art Night, Dubai International Financial Center, Dubai, UAE
2014 Vantage Point, Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah, UAE
2014 SIKKA Art Fair, Al Fahidi Historical District, Dubai, UAE
2014 Street Art Night, Al Quoz, Dubai, UAE
2009 StudioEleven, Tom Wudl Studio, Los Angeles, CA
2007 Light and Shadow, Emeritus College Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2006 Access: A Feminist Perspective, Rhonda Schaller Studio, New York, NY
2005 Women, Words and Images, Mills Pond Gallery, St. James, NY
2005 Earth and Fire: Works in Clay, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL
2005 Live Nude Girls, Tracy Park Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2004 The Passion of Women, Hamilton Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
COMMISSIONS
2014 Durrat Al Riyadh Resort and Spa, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
2014 The City Is Your Canvas, Dubai Culture, JBR Dubai, UAE
2012 Dubai Culture Outdoor Art, Business Bay, Dubai, UAE
2009 Outdoor Mural, Michael Landon Center, City of Malibu, Malibu, CA
LEADERSHIP & PROFESSIONAL SERVICE IN ARTS ORGANIZATIONS
Vice President, Board of Directors - Textile Arts LA (Nonprofit), Los Angeles, CA 2023–Present
President - Fiber Club, CSULB, Long Beach, CA 2021–2022
Secretary - Greater Los Angeles MFA Exhibition, Long Beach, CA 2021–2022
Secretary, Board of Directors - Fellows of Contemporary Art (Nonprofit), Los Angeles, CA, 2018–2020
MEMBERSHIP IN PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
California Fibers, San Diego, CA
EcoArtSpace, Santa Fe, NM
Fiber Art Now, Eugene, OR
National Basketry Association, Gloucester, MA
StudioEleven, Los Angeles, CA
Surface Design Association, Albuquerque, NM
Textile Arts LA, Los Angeles, CA
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Print Media
“Elise Vazelakis for Dubai Culture Outdoor Art Project,” Dubai Chronicle, May 6, 2012.
Anna Seaman, “The Fabric of Society,” The National, December 10, 2013.
“Dubai Art Week Launches Top Picks,” Emirates Woman, March 13, 2014.
“The Fabric of the Dubai Landscape,” Gulf News, March 20, 2014.
“Exhibit featuring sculpture by three women opens Thursday at Imperial Valley College,” The Desert Review, February 26, 2018.
Online Periodicals
“Elise Vazelakis for Dubai Culture Outdoor Project,” Dubai Chronicle, 2012.
Daniel Crowder, “Elise Vazelakis: Pushing the Limits,” Textile Artist Organization, 2016.
Kate, “Weaver Interview with Elise Vazelakis,” The Weaving Loom, 2017.
Erin Remington, “Elise Vazelakis: Finding Her Voice,” Gurl Museum Day, 2017.
“Los Angeles-Based Fiber Artist Elise Vazelakis Confronts Gun Violence,” Benzinga, March 20, 2018.
Dorothé Swinkels, “Elise Vazelakis weeft tactiele 3D-sculpturen met ijzerdraad en doek,” Textiel Plus, August 28, 2019.
“Pandemic Projects,” Surface Design Association, April 16, 2021.
“Opening Reception: Elise Vazelakis, Intersecting Matter,” Artillery, August 2021.
“Meet Elise Vazelakis,” VoyageLA, November 6, 2023.
Blog Posts
Smith, Cami. “Elise Vazelakis: Sketchbooks with Purpose,” Fiber Art Now, July 2024.
“The Gamcha Project,” The Sameness Project, 2014