SARASOTA, FLA.- Step into a world in which interconnectedness and resilience abound with “Janet Echelman: Radical Softness,” on view Nov. 16, 2025-April 26, 2026 at Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College of Art and Design. Janet Echelman’s solo exhibition at Sarasota Art Museum traces more than four decades of her path-breaking career, offering an intimate look at Echelman’s artistic evolution through drawings, paintings, textiles and the artist’s renowned monumental, netted sculptures and sculptural dance performances. The exhibition also marks the debut of a series of cyanotypes created from 3D models and photographs made during her design process, translating her monumental forms into a new photographic medium that uses the environment — sunlight — as both method and subject.

“‘Radical Softness’ invites visitors to experience art that transcends genre and fosters shared moments of wonder,” said Virginia Shearer, Sarasota Art Museum’s executive director. “As Sarasota Art Museum endeavors to encourage visitors to explore new ideas, Janet Echelman’s work illustrates art’s ability to reshape our perceptions of physical space and interpersonal connection.”

Echelman, who held the top spot on Oprah Winfrey’s “List of 50 Things That Make You Say Wow!,” is best known for her larger-than-life sculptures that marry design, architecture and engineering. Often choreographed by the wind, the aerial networks of knotted netting demonstrate interconnectedness and unity. When any part of the sculpture billows, all the surrounding elements are impacted, including the visitors underneath.


Studio Echelman. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Bruce Petschek.

“‘Radical Softness’ contextualizes Janet Echelman’s practice, revealing the narratives, influences and processes that drive her work. At its core, the exhibition highlights Echelman’s use of softness as a powerful tool — not only in material but as a philosophy,” said Lacie Barbour, associate curator at Sarasota Art Museum.

The exhibition showcases early works by Echelman from the 1980s and 1990s across a variety of mediums, including Batik dye and acrylic on canvas and linen, painted quilts and small-scale net models within a context of the artist’s studio. It also features recent large-scale maquettes, such as “Study (Butterfly Rest Stop 1/9 scale)” (2022), her vertically soaring sculpture; “Expanding Club” (2007), the 25-foot body extension choreographed by the Stuttgart Ballet; as well as a never-before-seen series of cyanotypes made this year — each demonstrating her profound relationship with the environment, remarkable ability for storytelling and her mastery of diverse materials.

While Echelman is best known for her artistic practice that has transformed public spaces around the globe, “Radical Softness” also features drawings and paintings that marked the start of her career before her unplanned experiment with three dimensional works. During a Fulbright Lectureship in India in 1997, Echelman promised to present painting exhibitions on behalf of the U.S. Embassy. However, the paints she shipped did not arrive. As deadlines for the shows loomed, Echelman searched for local materials to fulfil her obligation and stumbled upon net- makers in a fishing village in South India. The painter studied how the fishermen knotted nets and incorporated those methods into a new sculpture practice. This unforeseen set of circumstances and creative discovery re-charted the artist’s course and led Echelman to create the monumental body of public artworks which have gained recognition worldwide.


Janet Echelman (American). “Noli Timere Looking Up,” 2025. Cyanotype, 22 x 30 in. Courtesy of the artist.

“That was my pivot point from two to three dimensions. That moment catapulted my trajectory of going into cities and landscapes and meeting people where they are — in the middle of their lives — with contemplation of resilience, fluidity and interconnectedness,” Echelman said.

For Echelman, Sarasota Art Museum is a fitting place to reflect on her artistic journey. A fourth- generation Floridian, Echelman regularly vacationed in Sarasota as a child and still returns for annual family reunions. Before Sarasota Art Museum officially opened its doors in 2019, Echelman was one of the institution’s first visiting artists. “Sarasota has been a part of my entire life. It’s like coming home, so it is a very special place to launch my first mid-career retrospective,” said Echelman. “When you see someone’s life trajectory, it’s more than just looking at their art. You get a fuller story of the ideas which drew them, their practice and mission.”

The exhibition is accompanied by a publication, also titled “Radical Softness,” edited by Gloria Sutton, associate professor of contemporary art history at Northeastern University. The book includes previously unpublished project documentation, archival materials and an illustrated timeline of Echelman's career milestones. Featuring a foreword by Swizz Beatz and contributions from international scholars, engineers, designers, architects and curators, it illuminates Echelman's significant impact across contemporary art, architecture, engineering, dance and landscape architecture. Published by Chronicle Books and Princeton Architectural Press, the book is set to be released on Sept. 16.


Janet Echelman (American). “Enfold,” Hill House Montecito, CA, 2022. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Joe Fletcher.

Echelman’s sculptures span five continents. Recent commissions include “Remembering the Future” at the MIT Museum (2025); “Butterfly Rest Stop” in Frisco, Texas (2024); “Current” in Columbus, Ohio (2023); “Bending Arc” at the St. Pete Pier in Florida (2020); “Earthtime Korea” (2020); “Impatient Optimist” at The Gates Foundation in Seattle (2015); “1.8 Renwick” at the Smithsonian American Art Museum (2015); and “Every Beating Second” at San Francisco International Airport Terminal 2 (2011), among others.

“Janet Echelman: Radical Softness” is organized by Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College of Art and Design and curated by Lacie Barbour, associate curator at Sarasota Art Museum.

Janet Echelman has transformed urban environments through significant artworks on five continents that defy categorization, using unlikely materials from atomized water particles to engineered fiber 15 times stronger than steel by weight. Echelman lived in a Balinese village for five years after graduating from Harvard College. She then completed separate graduate programs in painting and psychology. She has taught at MIT, Harvard and Princeton Universities and received an honorary doctorate from Tufts University.


Janet Echelman (American). “Study (Butterfly Rest Stop 1/9 scale),” Rome, Italy, 2022. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Giovanni DeAngelis.

Echelman’s TED talk “Taking Imagination Seriously” has been translated into 35 languages with more than two million views. Echelman is a recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship, Harvard Loeb Fellowship, Aspen Institute Henry Crown Fellowship and Fulbright Sr. Lectureship. She also received the Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award in Visual Arts, honoring “the greatest innovators in America today.” In popular culture, Oprah ranked Echelman’s work #1 on her “List of 50 Things That Make You Say Wow!,” and the artist was named an Architectural Digest Innovator for "changing the very essence of urban spaces.”