CAREN GARFEN

 the third chair, 2026

selected - empathy/empatia textile miniature bratislava slovakia 2026

Selected - celebrating our strength in our diversity Online Exhibition 2026

The Third Chair highlights the joy of empathy and the positive words expressed by many, while also making us aware of the silence of others. Empathy represents a refusal to become indifferent to suffering or to reduce people to numbers. At its heart, the work is about our ability to recognise the individual human being behind every story: to listen, to care and to acknowledge experiences that may be different from our own. It celebrates the possibility of connection through compassion and our shared humanity.

Empathy is not understood merely as the ability to understand others, but as a conscious decision to approach another person’s experience - without the need to judge or simplify it. In today’s world, marked by conflict, social inequalities, and a growing sense of alienation, empathy becomes an active stance. It represents a refusal of indifference and the anonymization of suffering, and the ability to see a real human being where others may see only numbers or media images. Statement by The Slovak Association of Textile Artists TxT

Measurement: 18cm x 8.5cm x 5cm

Process: Hand stitch

Materials: Cotton, silk threads, 3 miniature chairs

Exhibited in:

TeXTile miniature, Galeria Umelka, Bratislava, Slovakia (13 May - 7 June 2026)

Celebrating Our Strength In Our Diversity, Chinwe Russell Gallery Online Exhibition (5 October - 20 November 2026)

COMMENTS

• Brilliant work as always

• Beautiful, articulate.

• A space to pause and take the words in

• Perfect given the present climate of artists being shutdown because of who they are