The Forest Belongs To Everyone, But It Is Not Yours

Arts + Literature Laboratory presents The Forest Belongs To Everyone, But It Is Not Yours, a show by Ren LaDassor, open from January 22 through March 27, 2027 alongside concurrent solo exhibitions A fragile unfolding by Meg Mitchell, and We Are Worth Saving by Ciel Skål. There will be an opening reception on Friday, January 22.

Bringing a visceral, tactile focus to the winter cycle, The Forest Belongs To Everyone, But It Is Not Yours uses textiles to transform fragments of the natural world into art that exists between specimen, sculpture, and memory. Inspired by her home in the University of Wisconsin Arboretum in Madison, Wisconsin, she observes a landscape in constant transformation. She seeks to capture a moment within that cycle and give it a permanence that photography cannot.

Embroidery is deliberate and methodical, while nature follows a less predictable logic. Its beauty lies in asymmetry, erosion, decay, and accident. Rather than idealizing nature, she embraces its imperfections: warped wood, exposed grain, frayed fibers, and evidence of decay become integral to the composition. Each piece becomes its own biotope—a small, imagined ecosystem in which organic material, stitched forms, and growth coexist.

Ren LaDassor has over 20 years of experience in the textile industry. Her work spans television, film, Broadway, and, for much of her career, textile art. Originally from Arkansas, she earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Costume Design from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. LaDassor spent her twenties working in New York City and is currently based in Madison, Wisconsin. She works as a textile artist, graphic designer, and costume designer. Additionally, she teaches embroidery classes and workshops for teens and adults throughout Wisconsin and Illinois.