BIO

Not your grandma’s embroidery.

Raised in the New York City area by parents of Dutch descent, Kris Campbell comes from a long line of flower bulb merchants. Her upbringing surrounded by warehouses brimming with bulbs and witnessing their vibrant bloom in Holland during spring profoundly influenced her. After getting a BA in both Biology and Art at Lafayette College, she found herself in Philadelphia, working as a graphic designer and completed the Visual Art Program at the Barnes Foundation.

She moved back to NYC to attend SVA for an MFA in Studio Art. Currently she works out of a warehouse in Northern NJ and her home in the suburbs of NYC. 

Kris advocates for visual arts and artists as president of a local arts organization, and is involved in county level organizations with the same purpose. Recently, Kris won a grant from Arts Council of Rockland. She shows consistently in the area at nonprofit spaces. She has participated in Upstate Arts Weekend for 3 consecutive years.

Kris draws on the X symbol from cross stitch embroidery to invoke Arachne. Arachne’s story inspires Kris through feminine mortal power, ancestors, courage, and craft. These allow her to think about the soul, ether, boundaries, division, space, color, presence and absence. She creates large scale tapestries up to 80 feet high, lego-like sculptures from PVC, paintings, and land art using the X as a symbol. 

For Kris , Arachne’s transformation into a spider is not punishment but a declaration: a maker who builds from almost nothing and never stops. Campbell calls on that force—craft as truth-telling, labor as witness—and her work makes clear: this is not your grandma’s embroidery.

short bio

moments into momentous. My art weaves moments into the extraordinary, crafting a tapestry of experiences. Rooted in the grid's structure, I navigate color spectrums and delve into the sacred. As a conceptual artist, I use cross-stitch as a metaphor to explore the separateness and connections of souls. Through expansive yarn installations, life-sized embroideries, and photo compositions, I probe humanity's essence and inter-soul bonds. Acutely aware of my body as a vessel of pain, the 'x' symbolizes a barrier, a fascination driving me. Inspired by Holland's bulb fields, I see individual vibrancy magnify in unity, echoing life's enigmatic energy. Art is my soul's expression, forging universal connections