The Great Divide: A Survey of Women in Art and Craft
Alissa Guzman, Hyperallergic
September 2015
Pathmakers: Women in Art, Craft and Design, Midcentury and Today is a brave exhibition currently on view at the Museum of Arts and Design. The show focuses on the overlooked impact of female artists working with materials typically associated with craft or the decorative arts, beginning with historical works from the 1950s and ending with artists as relevant and contemporary as Michelle Grabner. Organized by guest curators Jennifer Scanlan and Ezra Shales, Pathmakers offers a comprehensive look at the key women who laid the foundation for subsequent generations of artists working with “feminine” materials. They were women who helped redefine and recontextualize ways of making that were dismissed by the mainstream of modern art. From weaving, sewing, and quilting to creating functional and wearable pieces, these artists recast the narrative of their materials and gave conceptual integrity to a different way of making. […]