Opening Day Talk | Janet Echelman

Join us for a captivating talk with world-renowned artist Janet Echelman about her exhibition Radical Softness. Hear the inspiring stories behind Echelman’s path to international acclaim, as she discusses the signature net sculptures and monumental projects that transform public spaces around the world. Gain behind-the-scenes insight into her creative process, the stories and techniques that shape her practice, and how she has learned to harness softness as a strength.

Following the talk, Echelman will sign copies of her book Radical Softness: The Responsive Art of Janet Echelman, which unpacks her body of work through diverse essays, archival source materials, and an illustrated chronology. It is available for purchase in the Museum’s SHOP.

About Janet Echelman

Janet Echelman (American) creates experiential sculpture at the scale of buildings that transform with wind and light. Her work intersects Fine Art, Architecture, Urban Design, Material Science, Computer Science, and Structural and Aeronautical Engineering. Using unlikely materials from atomized water particles to synthesized fiber fifteen times stronger than steel, Echelman combines ancient craft with original computational design software to create artworks that have become focal points for urban life on five continents.

Recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship, Harvard Loeb Fellowship, Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award, Aspen Institute Henry Crown Fellowship, and Fulbright Lectureship, Echelman was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Tufts University and named an Architectural Digest Innovator for "changing the very essence of urban spaces." Her TED talk "Taking Imagination Seriously" has been translated into 35 languages and viewed by millions.

Her monumental, fluidly-moving aerial sculptures are found worldwide, from London, Madrid, and Amsterdam to Shanghai, Singapore, Santiago, and Sydney. Her permanent commissions include Remembering the Future at the MIT Museum (2025), Butterfly Rest Stop in Frisco, TX (2024), Current in Columbus, OH (2023), Bending Arc at the St. Pete Pier in Florida (2020), Earthtime Korea in South Korea (2020), Dream Catcher (2017) on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, CA, Her Secret Is Patience (2009) in downtown Phoenix, and She Changes (2005) in Porto, Portugal, among others. She currently lives and works in Massachusetts.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Sarasota Art Museum, 1001 South Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, United States