Regina Durante Jestrow
Regina Durante Jestrow (1978) is a textile artist from Queens, New York, who currently calls Miami, Florida, her home. Her artistic journey began in her formative years, as she learned sewing and crocheting from her mother, igniting a passion that would become a lifelong force. This connection to Fiber arts is the bedrock of her artistic practice. Relocating to Miami allowed Jestrow to delve into quilting. This became a source of solace and creative expression.
In her Miami home studio, the sewing machine, a symbol of comfort and creativity, continued taking center stage. Regina Jestrow’s artistic exploration is deeply rooted in women’s rights and history, combined with a deep appreciation for the patterns and stories drawn from the enduring traditions of American quilt-making. Her art quilts feature a fusion of new and second-hand fabrics, including hand-dyed and manipulated textiles, through various techniques, including natural and reactive dyes, inks, staining, and controlled burning. The resulting pieces reflect the colors and patterns that evoke Miami’s dynamic cultural diversity and landscape. Her affinity for textile arts pushes the boundaries of the medium, resulting in a diverse body of work that includes painting, drawings, sculptural installations, textile wall hangings, and functional objects.
Selected solo projects include ”Vulnerability & Resilience” at The Studios of Key West Sanger Gallery, Key West, FL (2024), “Free-Form Connections” at Dunedin Fine Art Center, Dunedin, FL (2023), “Pieces of the Landscape” at Mt. Sinai Skolnick Tower Surgical Center, organized by Oolite Arts, Miami Beach, FL (2023), and “Americana Quilts: Reinterpretation of Tradition” at Laundromat Art Space, Miami, FL (2022). Selected group exhibitions include “Hand Over Hand: Textiles Today” at Mindy Solomon Gallery, Miami, FL (2023), “A-Piece-A-Part” at ArtSpace NC, Raleigh, NC (2023), and “In the Company of Women: At Large” at LnS Gallery, Miami, FL (2022). Jestrow has been awarded artist residencies at The Jentel Foundation (2022), National Park Service Artist in Residence in the Everglades (AIRIE) (2014), and The Studios of Key West (2012). Awarded grants include the South Florida Cultural Consortium (SFCC, 2023), Miami Individual Artists (MIA) Grant (2023) and Stipend (2022), The Ellies, Miami’s visual arts awards, presented by Oolite Arts (2021), and the Artist Access Grant, Miami-Dade County and FUNdarte (2021, 2022, 2023).
