Last updated: 28 October 2026
Alice Kettle is the British textile artist known for huge figurative works made with a sewing machine, and winner of the 2023 Brookfield Properties Craft Award. Here you will find our take on her work, where to see Alice Kettle now, a book you can buy, and her two small stitched pieces in this year’s War Child auction.
Our take on Alice Kettle
Kettle draws with a sewing machine. Her stitched works run from small panels to wall-sized narrative pieces, full of figures, plants and myth. The line is the heart of it. “When stitching you are always doing two things at the same time,” she says on her own site. “You are drawing a descriptive, linear, illustrative line, but it is also a three-dimensional thread in tension and joins things together.”
Her two War Child lots are a pair. Sun Burst shows a big stitched flower in white and rust-brown thread, with patches of gold, over a ground that fades from pale grey to dark brown. Its stem and leaves are drawn in loose loops of green and gold thread. Sun Burst II repeats the flower in pale blue and white over a grey and black striped ground. Both are A5 pieces of thread on a linen mix, and you can see each stitch.
She also makes a case for the medium beyond the studio. “Thread is transformative,” she told Hole & Corner in 2023, reprinted by Candida Stevens. Her larger works sit in collections including the V&A and the Whitworth, so these small pieces are a rare way to own her hand at a low starting price.
Alice Kettle: the essentials
- Born in 1961, according to Candida Stevens. Studied Fine Art at the University of Reading, where her tutors included Terry Frost, then took a postgraduate diploma in Textile Art at Goldsmiths’ College in 1986.
- Emeritus Professor of Textile Arts at Manchester School of Art, Manchester Metropolitan University, where she completed a PhD in 2014.
- Won the 2023 Brookfield Properties Craft Award, run with the Crafts Council. Three of her works entered the Crafts Council collection as part of the prize, according to the award announcement.
- Had a major solo show, Thread Bearing Witness, at the Whitworth, Manchester, in 2018 to 2019.
- Co-curated Soft Power: Lives told through textile art at the Royal West of England Academy, Bristol, in 2025.
- Represented by Candida Stevens, Chichester, and shown by Bo Lee Gallery. Her work is in public collections including the V&A, the Whitworth, the Crafts Council and Manchester Art Gallery.
Where to see Alice Kettle now
- Now, until 3 January 2027: 173rd Annual RWA Open Exhibition (group), Royal West of England Academy, Bristol, 12 September 2026 to 3 January 2027.
- Coming up: Sound & Vision 2026, a War Child charity auction online from 27 October to 12 November 2026, with the works on view at Iconic Images Gallery, London, 6 to 8 November. The pieces are Sun Burst (2026), thread on linen mix, 15 x 21 cm (5.9 x 8.3 in), lot page, and Sun Burst II (2026), thread on linen mix, 15 x 21 cm (5.9 x 8.3 in), lot page.
- Circadian Threads (solo), Anna Helwing Gallery, Zurich, 6 June to 19 July 2026.
- A Stitch in Time (group), Paul Smith Space, London, 19 March to 31 May 2026.
- Balancing Act (solo), Bo Lee Gallery, Bruton, 7 February to 11 April 2026.
How to buy an Alice Kettle textile or book
There are no Alice Kettle prints or editions. Her textiles sell through her galleries, and you can buy the books she has co-written:
- Sun Burst, 2026: a small stitched piece, thread on linen mix, in the War Child Sound & Vision auction, bidding from £100 until 12 November 2026 (bid here).
- Sun Burst II, 2026: its companion piece in the same auction, bidding from £100 until 12 November 2026 (bid here).
- Reading the Thread: Cloth and Communication (Bloomsbury): co-written with Lesley Millar, £23.49 from Selvedge.
- Textile works: through Candida Stevens or Bo Lee Gallery, price on request.
Alice Kettle FAQs
How does Alice Kettle make her work?
She stitches with a sewing machine, building drawn lines of thread into figurative works that range from small panels to monumental pieces.
Which gallery represents Alice Kettle?
Candida Stevens in Chichester represents her, and Bo Lee Gallery in Bruton also shows her work.
What award did Alice Kettle win in 2023?
The Brookfield Properties Craft Award, run with the Crafts Council, which included three works entering the Crafts Council collection.
Can I buy an Alice Kettle print?
No. She makes unique stitched works rather than editions, but her book Reading the Thread costs £23.49 from Selvedge.
Where can I see her work now?
At the RWA Open in Bristol until 3 January 2027, and her War Child pieces are on view at Iconic Images Gallery, London, from 6 to 8 November 2026.
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- Nine London gallery shows to see in Frieze week: more art worth a trip.
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Main image: Alice Kettle in her studio, 2023. Photo: Alun Callender, courtesy Arnolfini. Cropped and framed by CoolCuration. Exhibition dates, prices, auction results and market figures last checked: 28 October 2026.
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