Gallerists Juliette Eckel and Anke Pradel-Schönknecht – Pas de Deux
January 30, 2026 / 12:02 PM
The exhibition "Pas de Deux" connects the work of two prominent textile artists. Together, they represent a dialogue between tradition and the present, experimentation and craftsmanship, individuality and collaboration. Their works are a declaration of love for textile art, detail, and the courage to cross boundaries.
Juliette Eckel has lived and worked in Northern Germany since 2012. She is a mixed media and textile artist, author, curator, networker, and has taught textiles for many years both in Germany and abroad. She regularly exhibits internationally.
After intensive study of dyeing and printing techniques, as well as experimenting with innovative materials, she began incorporating old traditional techniques into her work in the mid-1990s. The combination of old and new creates unique structures – a unique textile language.
Anke Pradel-Schönknecht graduated as a designer from the Berlin-Weißensee Art Academy in 2004. Over almost two decades, she gained extensive experience working with a wide variety of textile materials in the design of costumes at the Meiningen State Theater. Today, she uses this knowledge in her artistic work, creating art quilts and canvas paintings. She draws her inspiration from dreams, nature, and travels to distant lands. Each of her pieces tells its own story and is handcrafted with meticulous attention to detail.
The Exhibition
The exhibition "Pas de Deux" – A Declaration of Love for Textile Art brings together the works of two artists who, at first glance, couldn't be more different – yet share a common artistic approach: Both constantly seek challenges beyond their comfort zone. Experimentation, improvisation, and the conscious breaking of conventions – all of this is part of their artistic program.
Juliette Eckel and Anke Pradel-Schönknecht met in 2009 at a workshop in Juliette Eckel's studio. Since then, their contact has been constant: Over the years, a teacher-student relationship developed into a mentorship, and ultimately a friendly collaboration between two independent artists who are now exhibiting together for the first time.
In her work, Juliette Eckel consistently combines traditional craft techniques such as monastery stitching with modern means such as digital printing processes. Her mostly framed, richly detailed works invite – in the spirit of Wilhelm Busch – to discover "art in the attention to small things."
Anke Pradel-Schönknecht, on the other hand, uses her expertise in textile craftsmanship to create imaginative structures, which she translates into expressive art quilts and paintings. Her works seem like textile narratives in which longing, wanderlust, and wonder are interwoven.
In addition to their individual works, the artists in "Pas de Deux" also present works created in collaboration – true encounters "hand in hand."
