This autumn, Aberystwyth Arts Centre proudly presents Drawing a Thread, the first solo exhibition in the United Kingdom by celebrated French artist Éléonore False. Opening 10 September 2026 – 17 January 2027, the exhibition invites visitors into False’s richly imaginative world, transforming Gallery 1 into a vibrant landscape of textiles, collage and sculpture, unravelling stories of gender, craft, and cultural exchange.
A thread line as a guide, 2023,
Series of quilts – The Right Interfacing Cotton, thread, fleece, 117 × 137 cm Éléonore False, Adagp, 2026.
Production Magnetic Residency – Fluxus Arts Project.
Photo Credit: Nicolas Brasseur
Curated by Ffion Rhys, Drawing a Thread expands on False’s widely praised 2025 exhibition Le Fil de chaîne at Frac Sud, Marseille —and featured in Rencontres d’Arles Grand Arles Express.
Exhibition view Le Fil de chaîne
Frac Sud -Cité de l’art contemporain, Marseille, France, 2025 (curator Muriel Enjalran ) Éléonore False, Adagp, 2026
Photo credit: Marc Domage
False’s practice begins with printed and found materials, which she enlarges, isolates and liberates from their original context. As she writes, her work “traverses the flattened world of books” and pushes it into sculptural form through collage, ceramics, weaving and textile construction.
A Franco-Welsh dialogue
During her 2022 Magnetic Residency in Aberystwyth, False became captivated by Welsh quilt-making traditions — eiderdowns crafted by women, often anonymously, and passed down through generations. Inspired by historic quilts at Amgueddfa Cymru – St Fagans National Museum of History and Jen Jones Welsh Quilts, she collaborated with a local craftsperson to create a striking series of seven contemporary quilts.
These works, including A thread line as a guide (2023) and The Collar Chokes (2023), draw from dressmaking technical drawings and tulle to create what she describes as a “weft effect”.
The Collar Chokes, 2023, Series of quilts – The Right Interfacing Cotton, thread, fleece, 117 × 137 cm
Éléonore False, Adagp, 2026. Production Magnetic Residency – Fluxus Arts Project.
Photo Credit: Nicolas Brasseur
For the first time, these contemporary quilts will be shown alongside 2 historic Welsh quilts from St Fagans, creating a powerful cross-cultural conversation about craft, femininity, labour and the shifting boundaries between art and domestic making.
Quilted patchwork bedcover, mid-to-late 1800s. From Pontantwn Farm, near Carmarthen. Unknown maker, Amgueddfa Cymru- St Fagans National Museum of History.
Collage, pattern, disruption
False’s collages, created on vintage sewing patterns from Modes & Travaux, playfully subvert the instructional tone of domestic craft magazines, where the initial drawings lose their technical meaning and their purpose, inviting viewers to reconsider the conventions of the applied arts.
Supplément exclusif, 2023 Collage 99 x 74 cm
Photo credit: Nicolas Brasseur
Éléonore False, Adagp, 2026
Sculptural blooms: the Tulipes series
The exhibition also features False’s luminous Tulipes sculptures — elegant assemblages of vintage glass lampshades transformed into flower-like forms. These works, such as Tulipe #6 (2025), glow with LED light and merge nostalgia with contemporary sculptural experimentation.
Tulipe #1, 2024
Glass, LED, plexiglass and metal 40.5 x 20 x 20 cm
Photo credit: Nicolas Brasseur.
Éléonore False, Adagp, 2026
Tulipe #2, 2024
Glass, LED, plexiglass and metal 65 x 20 x 20 cm
Photo credit: Nicolas Brasseur.
Éléonore False, Adagp, 2026
Untitled, Harpa series, 2024 Collage
270 x 210 cm
Produced using material from Gisèle Tissier-Grandpierre, Nouveau Musée National de Monaco.
Photo credit: Nicolas Brasseur
Éléonore False, Adagp, 2026
Opening Night — 10 September
The exhibition launches on Thursday 10 September at 6pm in Gallery 1 with a celebratory drinks reception, followed at 6.30pm by a walking tour with Éléonore False and curator Ffion Rhys. This is a rare opportunity to hear the artist speak directly about her process, influences and the Welsh connections that shaped this body of work.
Press Day — Exclusive Access
Members of the press are invited to an exclusive preview on Wednesday 9 September, 10am–5pm, including the opportunity to meet the artist.
About the Artist
Éléonore False (b. 1987) is a Paris-based artist and graduate of the École des Beaux-Arts de Paris and Olivier-de-Serres. Her work has been exhibited internationally, including at Frac Sud, CCCOD Tours, Les Tanneries, MEP – Maison européenne de la photographie, Nouveau Musée National de Monaco, MAC/VAL, and Museo Experimental El Eco (Mexico). She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Magnetic Residency and grants from CNAP and Fondation des Artistes.
Website: www.eleonorefalse.com/about/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/eleonore_false/
About Aberystwyth Arts Centre
Aberystwyth Arts Centre is Wales’ largest arts centre and a national flagship for the arts, presenting world-class exhibitions and supporting emerging and established artists across Wales and beyond.
About the Magnetic Residency
This Magnetic residency is part of a programme of 8-week international residencies – a joint Franco-British initiative launched in 2022 under the umbrella of Fluxus Art Projects. The programme is based on 4 tandem partnerships between a French region and a British nation.
Magnetic is supported by the Institut Français du Royaume-Uni, the Institut Français, French Ministry of Culture, French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, Arts Council England,
Creative Scotland, Arts Council of Wales/Wales Arts International, Arts Council of Northern Ireland and the British Council.
Visit: Fluxus
Feature image: Éléonore False | Credit: Marie Lévi
