Liv Aanrud is a textile artist based in Los Angeles — a Central Wisconsin native who earned her B.F.A in painting from the UW-Eau Claire and her M.F.A from Rutgers University in New Jersey. Liv’s work has been featured in exhibitions across the United States, Europe, and Taiwan. Liv teaches art at Santa Monica College.
Ms. Aanrud’s hand tufted textiles are an attempt to slow time, to anchor herself in relentless momentum. Each tapestry becomes a tactile record of her days, where repetition and the rhythm of making are a retreat from the world—an expansive space in which time opens for daydreaming. There is also time to consider the yarn itself as a continuous rolled up line that can become a soft stitched drawing that looks like a painting.
Through intricate details and a psychedelic palette, Liv transports viewers to a dreamlike utopia, to slowly and joyously decode. The elements also point at an interconnectedness: a rejection of the human vs nature binary. So deeply integrated into their surroundings, her subjects verge on dissolution—at once distinct and inseparable from the world they inhabit.
Exhibition: March 17 – April 17, 2026
Artist Reception: Thu, April 16 | 5:30–7:30
Carlsten Art Gallery | UWSP Noel Fine Arts Center
Gallery Hours: Mon-Fri 12-6pm | Sat 10-2pm