Plural 2026

Contemporary Art Fair
From April 10 to 12, 2026
Booth 207

For the 2026 edition of Plural, La Guilde continues its mission to promote artists who push the boundaries of handmade art and presents an exhibition of textile works by Bettina Matzkuhn and Heather Shillinglaw.

Bettina Matzkuhn lives and works in Vancouver, British Columbia. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Master of Liberal Studies from Simon Fraser University. Using embroidery, painting, and fabric collage, she highlights the familiar and versatile language of textiles and explores themes of ecology, climate, and geography. Her work focuses particularly on the places she has visited and how human presence—including her own—influences them. Matzkuhn grew up on the coast of British Columbia and regularly hikes across Canada. She has a deep interest in maps, symbols, meteorology, and landscapes. Her interest in local ecosystems reflects a continuous learning process and a growing concern about the worsening climate crisis.

Heather Shillinglaw is a multidisciplinary visual artist and environmental activist of Nehiyaw (Cree), Dene (Chipewyan), Saulteaux/Ojibwe, and European (Scottish and French) descent. A member of the Cold Lake First Nation community in Alberta, she is a graduate of the Alberta College of Art and Design. The works on display are the result of a collaboration spanning more than thirty years with her mother, Shirley Norris Shillinglaw. They explore the transmission of ancestral knowledge relating to medicinal plants, flowers, and berries, while also highlighting their fragility. These works incorporate various upcycled fabrics, threads, beads, and jewelry. The reuse of materials is an integral part of this visual narrative, encouraging the protection of what remains of nature for future generations.

The two artists share not only environmental concerns but also a commitment to reusing materials, employing techniques traditionally associated with women, and drawing on scientific knowledge to deepen their understanding and reflection. They demonstrate that attentive observation of beauty and the slow work of the hands are concrete ways to act for the future of the world.

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