Blue Collar | Rachel Breen

In Blue Collar, discarded used clothing invites the public to consider how the clothes we wear are made and disposed of and the impact of this on the world’s water resources. The garment industry is one of the world’s largest industrial polluters. Breen’s work envisions alternatives through the act of remaking—a metaphor of the need to create just and sustainable systems. Stitches, spread throughout the work, becoming a form of resistance, holding together something new, a reminder of our ability to repair and rebuild.

Artist Bio:
Rachel Breen’s work has been shown widely across the country and internationally. Exhibitions of note include participation in the 18th International Textile Triennial at the Central Textile Museum in Lodz Poland, inclusion in the 15th Havana Biennale in Havana, Cuba and a solo exhibition at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Rachel has received a Fulbright research fellowship to India and has been awarded artist residencies at MacDowell, Ucross, Ox-Bow, Willapa Bay AiR and the Virginia Center for Creative Arts. Rachel has been awarded a McKnight Fellowship for Visual Artists, a Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship and five Minnesota State Arts Board grants. Rachel holds an MFA from the University of Minnesota and a BA from The Evergreen State College. Rachel is a tenured professor of art at Anoka Ramsey Community College and currently serves as the chair of the Department of Fine Arts.

Image: Blue Collar (detail), used clothing, dye, thread, pins, variable dimensions, 2026.