Ophelia Arc on Crochet, Trauma, and the Body in Suspension

Ophelia Arc, a New York-based sculptor working primarily in crochet, discusses her practice with Phillip Edward Spradley. Arc's work uses yarn, tulle, gauze, and found materials to create forms that evoke skin, organs, wounds, and membranes, oscillating between intimacy and unease. She explores repetition as ritual, compulsion, and self-preservation, noting that crochet began as a habit to subdue nervous tics but has become compulsive under duress. Her sculptures resist fixed identification, inviting multiple readings through affect and context. Arc references psychoanalytic theory and feminist philosophy, particularly D.W. Winnicott's transitional object, to frame her material language. She engages with visible-mending techniques, purposefully ripping and repairing crochet to reveal time and touch. Her installations function as ecologies, extending her studio practice. Arc holds a BFA from Hunter College and an MFA from Rhode Island School of Design, and has exhibited at 81 Leonard, Kates-Ferri Projects, Lubov Gallery, Lyles & King, Abigail Ogilvy Gallery, and Tube Culture Booth. She is currently exploring the umbilical cord as a focal point and collaborating with emerging curators for thesis exhibitions.