Genesis Moreno (b. 1991, Illinois) is a Miami-based textile artist who turns quilting into a language of vulnerability and self-expression. Working through a feminist lens, she stitches together themes of trauma, mental health, and obsessive care, transforming familiar fabrics into charged objects. Her quilts resist being seen only as comfort or ornament; instead, they ask the viewer to sit with discomfort, memory, and emotion. Genesis received a Bachelors of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2017 on a Merit Scholarship. Her recent exhibitions include “Chewing the Cud” at Tunnel Projects, Miami, FL, “That Which Frightens Us” at Primary Projects in Miami, FL, “Thinking Matter” at Ear Ear Projects in Munich, Germany, and “Everything Ends Eventually” at Latchkey Gallery in New York City. Genesis is currently a studio resident at Oolite Arts for 2026, Miami, FL. She has also participated in the Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild Residency in Woodstock, NY.
Butterfly Hug Me, 2025
Vintage clothes, lace robe, t-shirt, crochet blanket, sublimation print, batting, thread, 26″ x 24″
Butterfly Hug Me explores the self-soothing EMDR trauma technique known as the “Butterfly Hug,” which is used to help regulate the nervous system during times of distress. The work incorporates a still from a TikTok video in which a therapist demonstrates the technique.
Decorated with butterfly emojis, the video reflects the way social media can trivialize or aestheticize mental health, particularly in ways that resonate with gendered expectations placed on women.
Expressive embroidered mark-making and stitched text overlay the image with phrases that undermine or dismiss mental health struggles, transforming the act of embroidery into a cathartic process of resistance and release.
Vintage fabrics connect the work to my upbringing, shaped by thrift-store excess and the comfort and complexity of a hoarding environment. These materials carry personal memory, allowing the work to navigate the tension between care, accumulation, and emotional inheritance.
