Liz Ensz was born in Minnesota to a resourceful family of penny-savers, metal scrappers, and curators of cast-offs.

Liz received a BFA in Fiber from the Maryland Institute College of Art (2005), and an MFA in Fiber & Material Studies from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2013), where they taught from 2014-2018 in Fiber & Material Studies, Sculpture, and the Low-Residency MFA program.

At the heart of their work lies an embedded textile logic, a determined material engagement, scavenger impulse, and an interest in our network of entanglements with each other and the natural world through systems both visible and unseen.

As an extension of their practice, Liz has worked collaboratively to create platforms for others, including The Visitor Center Artist Camp and Sustainable Practices Symposium, an artist residency in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and as a member of the Leadership Team for FORCE: Upsetting Rape Culture, which includes The Monument Quilt.

Ensz has received several grants for travel and research, and has exhibited their textiles and sculpture nationwide, including Franconia Sculpture Park, Shafer, MN; Smack Mellon, Brooklyn, NY; Roots and Culture Contemporary Art Center, Chicago, IL; Boston Center for the Arts, Boston, MA. Residencies include The John Michael Kohler Arts/Industry Program in Foundry, Sheboygan, WI; LATITUDE, Chicago, IL; and Blue Mountain Center, Blue Mountain Lake, NY.

www.lizensz.com

https://themonumentquilt.org/