I Wear My Insides Out

I Wear My Insides Out explores the concept of Pentimento—the trace of something that refuses to disappear, a resurfacing of what once was. Derived from the Italian pentirsi, meaning “to repent,” pentimento refers to the visible reemergence of earlier painting layers beneath a canvas’s surface. In this exhibition, it becomes a metaphor for lived experience, for the qualities and memories that push through despite efforts to conceal them.

This body of work highlights what is often hidden, disregarded, or obscured. Using unexpected materials—velvet, translucent nylon, metallic linen—and drawing from my background in fashion design, I bring these overlooked elements forward. Transparent fabrics and layered surfaces allow what was once veiled to reappear. In some cases, clothing motifs emerge, subtly referencing the reverse of things—interpolated into the space between painting, sculpture, and installation.

The curatorial focus traces a passage between viscerality and resurgence. The selected works present fragmented bodies, negotiating the boundary between figure and ground, or between the human form and everyday objects in still-life compositions. Traditional “feminine” techniques—embroidery, quilting, textile-based practices—are not footnotes here, but central to the narrative. These forms, historically devalued, become sites of intimacy, complexity, and transformation.

Through layered compositions and obscured markings, each piece reveals and conceals in turn. Traces and lines act as fragments of memory, remnants of gestures, clues to what has been lived. What was once erased or covered now insists on being seen.

I Wear My Insides Out invites viewers into these layered spaces—not just to observe, but to feel the intimacy of exposure, and to consider what we carry beneath the surface. This is a process deeply personal, but also shared: a call to witness the beauty in what persists.

Artist

Katia Wille (b.1971, Brazil) is a visual artist and researcher who lives and works in Rio de Janeiro, where she maintains her studio. Her multifaceted work includes paintings, objects, wearable art, and cognitive installations. In her journey through the fields of visual arts, fashion, and design, Katia creates intertwined images, exploring the tensions between presence and absence as central themes in her research. Her work invites the viewer to become part of the art, engaging with bodies, brushstrokes, and shapes that stretch form and color to their limits.