about

THERESA BUFFO
Statement and Bio


Exploring how texture, imperfection, and repair shape the stories materials can hold is central to my work. Textiles remind us of a time when making by hand was more important than consumerism. Gravitating towards cloth that has been worn, touched, or discarded, reviving and preserving materials through mending and layered construction; each stitch becomes a marker of time and attention. Moving between softness and structure—gesture and seam—my work sits at the intersection of painting, quilting, and sculpture. Through visible mending, appliqué, color bleeds, and loose threads, I explore fiber as a drawing tool and paint as a textile. Raw edges, hand drawn stitches, silk brocade, leather scraps are chosen by color and texture quality, draping and volume. When combined with painting, the unframed surface swells and transforms. For me, these materials embrace process, contrasting what is exposed versus what is hidden or concealed.

Theresa Buffo is an artist and designer born in Canton, Ohio and based in Nashville, Tennessee. She earned a BA in Studio Art with honors in Painting and a minor in Italian Studies from The Colorado College, studying Industrial Design at the University of Illinois Chicago. While working in antique textile conservation for a private Chicago collector, Buffo reconnected with stitching and textile craftsmanship. She went on to build small businesses in fashion and outdoor retail, deepening her understanding of function, durability, and material systems. Self-taught in leatherwork, she continues to create custom handbags for small retailers, online, and direct clients. After relocating from Chicago with her husband and two sons, she joined COOP Gallery in 2023, where she cultivates community as artist, board member, curator, and grant writer.


theresabuffo.com
@studiobuffo11