TILBURG.- From 28 March 2026, the TextielMuseum presents Man <3 Machine – 25 Years of TextielLab. The exhibition marks a quarter of a century of TextielLab: the professional workshop of the TextielMuseum in Tilburg, where artistic imagination and technological innovation come together.

The exhibition features works by Peter Struycken, Koen Taselaar, Aiko Tezuka, Jan Taminiau, Aleksandra Gaca, Bertjan Pot, Van Eijk & Van der Lubbe, Fransje Gimbrère, Samira Boon, Ursula Wagner and Mae Engelgeer.

An ode to boldness and imagination

Man <3 Machine – 25 Years of TextielLab celebrates experimentation, collaboration and progress. The exhibition shows how textiles continue to evolve when human creativity and machine technology reinforce one another, and how this relationship can result in surprising, beautiful and ground-breaking work.

From first machine to an international hub

The story begins 25 years ago with a bold decision: by placing the first computer-controlled weaving machine at the heart of the museum, the TextielMuseum developed into a progressive museum where production and presentation converge. Today, the TextielLab is an international incubator for textile creation and a vital springboard for both emerging and established talent. A place where technology is never the end point, but always the starting point for new possibilities.

Weaving without limits

The exhibition, with spatial design by Studio Parade, brings together eleven impressive artworks created at the TextielLab over the past 25 years. The presentation is enriched by video portraits of the weavers, artists and designers involved, offering insight into the making process and the collaborative nature of the work.

At the heart of the exhibition is computer controlled weaving, the technique that has earned the TextielLab international recognition. Within this process, the interaction between human imagination and digital technology becomes visible. Thanks to their speed and exceptional precision, the weaving machines are able to build complex structures layer by layer, unlocking new possibilities for form, colour and material.

Co-creation

In 2002, Peter Struycken was invited as the first artist to create a work on the new computer-controlled weaving machine, in collaboration with TextielLab weaving specialist Stef Miero. At the time, Struycken was already internationally renowned for his systematic approach to colour, in which carefully composed colour palettes usually form the basis of his work. For this wall tapestry, however, he faced a new challenge: the colour palette depended on the blending of different yarns.

To achieve a harmonious colour composition, Miero experimented with a variety of weave bindings, while the advanced weaving machine, thanks to its speed and precision, made an almost infinite range of structures possible. The result is a colour palette that emerges directly from the artist’s intuitive choices, in which technology and creativity seamlessly converge.

That same synergy between technology and creativity is evident in the pioneering 3D weaving techniques presented in Man <3 Machine – 25 Years of TextielLab. Designers such as Aleksandra Gaca, Fransje Gimbrère and Jan Taminiau deliberately create space within the textile, developing fabrics that are no longer flat but acquire volume, scale and form. This sculptural approach opens up new applications in product design, fashion and material innovation.

At the same time, a new generation of artists and designers is given a voice. Young talents, unencumbered by rules or limitations, approach the machines with open curiosity. This attitude works both ways: they inspire experienced specialists to re-examine familiar techniques. What is created on the weaving machines in Tilburg goes on to travel the world — from presentations in Shanghai to museums in New York — demonstrating how local craftsmanship can grow into Art with a capital A, with international impact.

Danique Klijs, conservator and curator of Man <3 Machine – 25 Years of TextielLab: “The TextielLab has never been just a place of technology. Here, artists, technicians and machines challenge one another. This anniversary exhibition shows how weaving has developed over 25 years into an experimental medium in which human imagination and collaboration remain indispensable, precisely because of technology.”