Richie Wilde Lopez
A queer Puerto Rican textile artist based in Philadelphia, Richie Wilde Lopez' practice is shaped by the generational knowledge passed down to him through the women who taught him to understand cloth as a living source of memory.
Richie Wilde Lopez is a queer Puerto Rican textile artist based in Philadelphia. His practice is shaped by the generational knowledge passed down to him through the women who taught him to understand cloth as a living source of memory. He views textiles as storytellers that gather meaning through use, repair, and time.
Working with traditional weaving and embroidery, Lopez explores Latinidad, queerness, and belonging through layered and tactile forms. He is drawn to the human lifespan of cloth, which is fragile, resilient, and always changing. His work honors imperfection and vulnerability as expressions of strength and preserves stories that may otherwise fade from view.