Women Get the Nod – in Art at Least

November 20, 2024 0 Comment

We may not have seen the first female president in the US this year, but women are getting a well-deserved attention in the art world in 2024. We’ve previously written about women-centric exhibitions worth seeing: Subversive, Skilled, Sublime: Fiber Art by Women which includes Lia Cook, Kay Sekimachi, Adela Akers, Katherine Westphal and may others, at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C, Sheila Hicks at the Josef Albers Museum Quadrat Bottrop and the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf museums in Germany and Sublime Light: Tapestry Art of DY Begay, at the National Museum of the American Indian. All of these run through the winter into at least January 2025. 

Olga de Amaral installation
Olga de Amaral installation at the Fondation Cartier in Paris. Photo courtesy of Fondation Cartier.

But there are even more, exhibitions that highlight women as artists and art collectors and curators. Not to be missed are Olga de Amaral at the Fondation Cartier in Paris, Composing Color, the Paintings of Alma Thomas at the Denver Art Museum in Colorado, Georgia O’Keefe and Henry Moore, at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts, and Lillie P. Bliss and the Birth of the Modern at the Museum of Modern of Art in New York. 

The Fondation Cartier Pour l’Art Contemporain is presenting the first major retrospective in Europe of Olga de Amaral, a key figure of the Colombian art scene and of Fiber Art. The exhibition brings together nearly 80 works made between the 1960s and now, many of which have never been shown before outside of Colombia. As the Museum explains, de Amaral’s unclassifiable work draws equally from the Modernist principles that she discovered studying at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in the United States, and the vernacular traditions of her country, as well as pre-Columbian art. The exhibition shines a light on the different periods that have characterized her artistic career: from her formal explorations (use of the grid, colors) to her experimentations (with materials and scale), as well as the influences that have nurtured her work (constructivist art, Latin-American handicrafts, the pre-Columbian era). The installation is breathtaking, with works hung in space amidst stones and sunlight. 

Alma Thomas, Elysian Fields
Alma Thomas, Elysian Fields, 1973, acrylic on canvas, 30.125″ x 42.25″, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of the artist, 1980.36.8

Composing Color explores the life of the groundbreaking American artist and educator, Alma Thomas, drawing on the extensive holdings of her paintings at the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM). Thomas’s abstract style is distinct, where color is symbolic and multisensory, evoking sound, motion, temperature, and even scent. The exhibition is organized around the artist’s favorite themes of space, earth, and music.

Thomas was born in 1891 in Columbus, Georgia, She moved to Washington, DC, with her family when she was a teenager. She became Howard University’s first student to earn a degree in fine art in 1924 and went on to teach art in DC public schools for more than 30 years, as well as serving as vice-president of the Barnett Aden Gallery, one of the nation’s first racially integrated and Black-owned art galleries. In 1972, at the age of 80, Thomas presented solo exhibitions at both the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, earning her unprecedented recognition for a Black woman artist.

Henri Moore and Georgia O'Keefe
Henry Moore, Working Model for Locking Piece; Georgia O’Keefe, Jack in the Pulpit installation. Photo courtesy of the Museum of Fine Art, Boston.

As one of the most innovative artists of the 20th century, Georgia O’Keeffe left an indelible mark on modernism—and American culture at large. In the exhibition Georgia O’Keefe and Henry Moore reveals how nature in its many forms—most notably flowers and desert landscapes—influenced O’Keefe’s art. The way she approached her work carried through to how she approached life in general, from the way she dressed to how she decorated her home. Featuring more than 150 works, Georgia O’Keeffe and Henry Moore includes paintings, sculptures, and works on paper, as well as faithful recreations of each artist’s studio containing their tools and found objects. The studio installations illuminate the heart of their artistic practice—something rarely made visible in museum spaces—and create richer portraits of O’Keeffe and Moore by encouraging visitors to imagine how they worked and lived. This major exhibition is the first to bring these two artists into conversation, using compelling visual juxtapositions to explore their common ways of seeing. 

Lillie P. Bliss and the Birth of the Modern, at MoMA focuses on the collection and legacy of Lillie P. Bliss, one of the Museum’s three founders and an early advocate for modern art in the United States. On view from through March 29, 2025, the exhibition marks the 90th anniversary of Bliss’s bequest coming to MoMA and includes iconic works such as Paul Cézanne’s The Bather (c. 1885) and Amedeo Modigliani’s Anna Zborowska (1917). 

Lillie P. Bliss installation at the MOMA
Installation view of Lillie P. Bliss and the Birth of the Modern, on view at The Museum of Modern Art, New York from November 17, 2024, through March 29, 2025. Photo: Emile Askey, courtesy MoMA.

Lilie P. Bliss accompanies the publication of MoMA’s book, Inventing the Modern: Untold Stories of the Women Who Shaped The Museum of Modern Art, a revelatory account of the Museum’s earliest years told through newly commissioned profiles of 14 women who had a decisive impact on the formation and development of the institution. Inventing the Modern comprises illuminating new essays on the women who, as founders, curators, patrons, and directors of various departments, made enduring contributions to MoMA during its early decades (especially between 1929 and 1945), creating new models for how to envision, establish, and operate a museum in an era when the field of modern art was uncharted territory. Bliss was an example of the women who shaped the Museum’s vision for modern art. When Bliss died, she left approximately 120 works to the Museum in her will. In an effort to ensure the Museum’s future success, Bliss stipulated that MoMA would receive her collection only if it could prove that it was on firm financial footing within three years of her death. In 1934 the Museum was able to secure the bequest, which became the core of MoMA’s collection. This included key works by Cézanne, Georges-Pierre Seurat, Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Modigliani, Odilon Redon, Marie Laurencin, and Henri Matisse. Bliss’s bequest wisely allowed for the sale of her works to fund new acquisitions, facilitating the purchase of many important artworks, including Van Gogh’s The Starry Night, which is featured in Lillie P. Bliss exhibition.

Hope you can get to see one or more of these exceptional exhibitions!

Exhibitions/Locations/Dates
Olga de Amaral 
Fondation Cartier,  Paris, France
through March 16, 2025

Composing Color: the paintings of Alma Thomas
Denver Art Museum, Colorado
through January 12, 2025

Georgia O’Keefe and Henry Moore
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts
through January 20, 2025

Lillie P. Bliss and the Birth of the Modern
Museum of Modern Art, New York, New York
through March 29, 2025

Subversive, Skilled, Sublime: Fiber Art by Women
Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC
through January 5, 2025

Sheila Hicks
Kunsthalle and Josef Albers Museum Quadrat Bottrop, Dusseldorf, Germany
through February 23, 2025

Sublime Light: Tapestry Art of DY Begay
National Museum of the American Indian
through July 13, 2025

Our 60th Catalog — Ways of Seeing — Now Available

November 13, 2024 0 Comment
Ways of Seeing Cover
Ways of Seeing Cover. Works from left to right: Lia Cook, Carolina Yrarrázaval, Lilla Kulka, Mariette-Rousseau-Vermette, Dawn MacNutt

We had a lot of ground to cover in our last, and 60th, catalog. We curated three exhibitions under the title, Ways of Seeing, our broad-based umbrella look at how people collect art. 

Ways of Seeing title page
works by Carolina Yrarrázaval, Ulla Maija Vikman

The Ways of Seeing catalog contains an intro about collecting and sections on our theme-based grouping, The Art Aquatic, our artist-based collection,  Impact: 20 Women Artists to Collect, and our size-based assemblage, Right-Sized.  The result is a 188-page volume that features work by 74 international artists.

In the intro, we share a bit about our research into collectors, their passion and proclivities. People like Herb and Dorothy Vogel, who created a vast collection of Minimalist art, Komal Shah and Gaurav Garg who’ve created the Shah Garg collection of women artists and artists of color and Lloyd Cotsen who collected broadly and in depth, including bamboo baskets and contemporary textiles.

Octopus by Karl Sisson
Flight by Karyl Sisson

In The Art Aquatic section there is work by more than two dozen artists. There are works that are made from water-related materials, ones that evoke oceanic themes, and ones that feature maritime motifs. Included are Marian Bijlenga’s motif of fish scales, Jeannet Leenderste’s foamy sculpture of silk, and Merja Winqvist’s boat sculpture of paper.

works by Helena Hernmarck, Chiyoko Tanaka, Norma Minkowitz

The catalog offers extra content in the section on Impact: 20 Women Artists to Collect. There are short portraits of the women included, highlighting their innovative approaches and evolving art practices. And there are additional examples of their work, beyond those that were displayed in the in-person exhibit. Included in this section are works from a 55-year period, from a 1959 woven work by fiber pioneer, Kay Sekimachi to an ikat created by Polly Barton in 2024.

Salon Wall
From upper left, works by: Gali Cnaani, Jennifer Falck Linssen, Mia Olsson, Lewis Knauss, Paul Furneaux, Mary Merkel-Hess, Sue Lawty

The Right-Sized section of the exhibition includes 68 works, organized into a few subgroupings. Among the mini-collections are works on paper — including newspaper and sandpaper, spheres and boxes of various materials, and taller baskets of natural materials, each at least 12 inches tall. Also included are ceramics, works of thread and acrylic, and of silk.

You can order a copy of Ways of Seeing from the store on our website.

And the Winner Is … Loewe Celebrates Art and Artisans

November 6, 2024 0 Comment
Polly Adams Sutton Loewe
Ebb Tide in Loewe exhibition in Paris, France. Photo by Polly Adams Sutton. 

Too often we hear about corporations that are using creators’ works — art and music — without permission (https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-graffiti-artists-fighting-brands-steal-work). Many raise concerns about AI borrowing and boosting artwork without attribution or compensation (https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/is-ai-art-stealing-from-artists). So it’s gratifying to learn about the efforts of Loewe, a corporation that celebrates and collaborates with artists rather than cannibalizing their work. 

Loewe is a luxury fashion house founded in 1846 by a group of Spanish leather craftsmen. Loewe’s efforts to support the arts are severalfold — it organizes exhibitions, promotes a prestigious international art competition, and creates artist-inspired capsule collections. It created a foundation in 1988, which supports international prizes for craft and poetry, collaborates with major arts festivals, and also supports other art, photography, and dance. The Foundation sponsors the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize, an international award celebrating exceptional craftsmanship. Through the Prize, the Foundation aims to discover uniquely talented artisans with the vision and innovative drive to set new standards for the future of craft. The Prize ecognizes those who combine tradition, modernity, and a unique artistic concept. Like browngrotta arts aims to do, the Loewe Prize elevates artists who contribute continuously to contemporary culture through a contemporary reinterpretation of tradition. 

Jiro Yonezawa, leather basket
Jiro Yonezawa crafting LOEWE leather into unique pieces at milan design week 2019. Photo courtesy of Loewe.

In 2019, for example, as part of Milan Design Week, Loewe installed an exhibition that placed a spotlight on basketmaking, divided into two installments — inspiration and collection. As part of that project, Loewe’s creative director, Jonathan Anderson, invited Japanese artist Jiro Yonezawa to creaft one off pieces in which he swapped the strips of bamboo, with which he usually works, for naturally dyed Loewe leather.

Mercedes Vicente, Yeonsoon Chang, Gerne Jacobs, Simone Pheulpin, Jiro Yonezawa, Kay Sekimachi
clockwise details of works by: Mercedes Vicente, Yeonsoon Chang, Ferne Jacobs, Simone Pheulpin, Jiro Yonezawa, Kay Sekimachi. Photos by Tom Grotta

Several of the artists that work with browngrotta arts have made the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize short list, including Mercedes Vicente, Yeonsoon Chang, Ferne Jacobs, and Simone Pheulpin, who was awarded the Honor Prize in 2018. Finalists are brought to Europe for the award presentation. For Polly Adams Sutton, who made the short list in 2024, that meant a trip to Paris to see her work installed. “What an amazing privilege it was!” she says of the competition. “By providing a means for craft artists of all mediums to be recognized as Art, Loewe elevates the crafts as legitimate forms of art. Loewe creations may use craft as inspiration for their work but the craft prize has been created solely for the artists to be honored and to give craft its place in the art world.”

Kay Sekimachi Loewe bags
Loewe bags inspired by Kay Sekimachi’s work. Photo by Tom Grotta

Loewe also works with artists to create specially curated collections, inspired by the artists’ work. This year, Loewe partnered with Kay Sekimachi to create a limited-edition collection of handbags that showcase her pioneering work in loom weaving and draw upon Sekimachi’s 1999 “Takarabako” series. The Puzzle Fold Tote and Bucket Bag are crafted in cotton jacquard with a calfskin base and details, and feature a gold embossed motif with Sekimachi’s name. The project was licensed by Artists Rights Society.

Kudos to the artists honored and to Loewe and its commitment to craft.

Art Assembled – New This Week in October

October 30, 2024 0 Comment

As October comes to a close, we’re filled with excitement as we prepare for our upcoming exhibition, Japandi Revisited: shared aesthetics and influences, opening December 7, 2024, and running through January 25, 2025 at the Wayne Art Center in Wayne, Pennsylvania Three years ago, we curated a fascinating exhibition at browngrotta arts that delved into the inspirations shared by artists in Japan and Scandinavian countries—Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Denmark. The stories and artistic references we uncovered were so compelling that we decided to revisit this rich dialogue this winter at the Wayne Art Center. We can’t wait to share these insights with you!

Throughout October, our New This Week series introduced an array of talented artists, including Ed Rossbach, Norma Minkowitz, Laura Thomas, and Noriko Takamiya. We’re thrilled to showcase their remarkable contributions and invite you to explore their extraordinary work.

Ed Rossbach
220r Chief, Ed Rossbach, ash splints, found objects, 11.75″ x 10.5″ x 11″, 1990. Photo by Tom Grotta.

Ed Rossbach kicked off the month with his iconic sculptures that meld traditional techniques with innovative materials. Renowned as an imaginative and adept weaver, Rossbach is celebrated for his pioneering role in transforming basketry into a sculptural art form.

Rossbach expertly combines ancient weaving techniques with unorthodox materials, such as plastics and newspaper, challenging the boundaries of traditional craft. Additionally, his work often incorporates unconventional imagery and pop culture references, reflecting his innovative spirit and cultural commentary. With an eye for detail and a commitment to experimentation, Rossbach’s pieces are not only visually striking but also carry notable cultural significance.

Norma Minkowitz
Norma Minkowitz, 114nm The Seeker
pen and ink drawing, 20.25” x 16.25” x 1.5”, 2014. Photo by Tom Grotta.

Next, we featured the talented artist Norma Minkowitz, known for her innovative approach to crocheted, interlaced sculptures that are stiffened into hard mesh-like structures. For many years, Minkowitz has been exploring these techniques, achieving both structure and surface simultaneously. Minkowitz has studied drawing. In addition to “sketching” in crochet, she creates highly detailed collages with intricate drawing combined with pop and other images, like Picasso’s eyes in The Seekers.

A Fellow of the American Craft Council, Minkowitz’s work is held in numerous prestigious collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. We hope you enjoyed her work as much as we do!

Laura Thomas
12lt Cross, Laura Thomas, handwoven silk, cotton, resist indigo dye, 11″ x 11″ x 1.75″, 2023

Following Minkowitz, we turned our spotlight to artist Laura Thomas, known for her innovative approach to contemporary textiles. Since her first experience of weaving in 1996, Thomas has been thoroughly absorbed by its infinite scope for exploration and experimentation. She established her studio practice in South Wales in 2004 and has worked on a diverse range of projects, spanning public art, commercial textile design, curation, artist residencies, and creating work for exhibitions.

Thomas’s multi-faceted approach sets her apart in the woven textiles sphere, making her a distinctive voice in contemporary textile art.

Noriko Takamiya
34nt Revolving Cross, Noriko Takamiya, paper, 5.5″ x 7.75″ x 4.5″, 2024. Photo by Tom Grotta.

Lastly, we showcased Noriko Takamiya, celebrated for her contemporary take on traditional Japanese basketmaking techniques. Takamiya’s practice is a captivating blend of experimentation and refinement, as she explores various weaving methods using materials such as wood splint, ramie, rice straw, and paper.

Her work often features non-vessel forms that highlight the unique interplay between structure and material. Takamiya is a member of a distinguished group of innovative basketmakers, inspired by Hisako Sekijima’s pioneering basket technology, which has evolved into a new method of three-dimensional modeling. This influential group has held an annual basketry exhibition since 1986, continually pushing the boundaries of basketry and significantly contributing to the field.

As we wrap up October, we’re grateful for your continued support and interest in our artists. Stay tuned for more exciting updates as we approach the opening of Japandi Revisited and keep exploring the incredible world of textile art!

Thank you for following along with our latest features and updates. Don’t forget to reserve your spot for the upcoming exhibition, and we look forward to sharing more details soon!

Save the Date: Japandí Revisited in Wayne, PA, December 7, 2024 to January 25, 2025

October 23, 2024 0 Comment
Willow basket by Mark Kosonen, Indigo banner by Hiroyuki Shindo
54mk Willow Cat Basket, Markku Kosonen sibirica, satix phylicifalia, 7″ x 11.5″ x 11″, 1990
4hsh.1 Wall Hanging, Hiroyuki Shindo, linen, handspun and handwoven, indigo dye, 69″ x 17″ , 1995. Photo by Tom Grotta

It turned out so nice, we decided to do it twice. Three years ago we curated an exhibition at browngrotta arts exploring the inspirations shared by artists in Japan and the Scandinavian countries, Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Denmark. We uncovered so many interesting stories and artistic references among the artists we work with we’ve decided to revisit this topic again this winter at the Wayne Art Center in Wayne, Pennsylvania. Japandí Revisited: shared aesthetics and influences will open on December 7, 2024 and run through January 25, 2025. 

Basket Strings by Birgit Birkkjaer
102bb Woven Art Basket Strings, Birgit Birkkjaer, linen, paper, horsehair, hemp yarn, silk-steel, yarn, glue, 61″ x 35″ x 4″, 2024. Photo by Tom Grotta

The Ethel Sergeant Clark Smith Gallery at the Wayne Art Center is spacious and bright and an inviting space. Vistors to Wayne will see some familiar works alongside new ones, from Birgit Birkkjaer, Hiroyuki Shindo, and Naoko Serino. Japandí Revisited will also feature artists new to our Japandí assemblage, including Shoko Fukuda, Toshiko Takaezu, Aya Kajiwara, Kogetsu Kosuge, and Hiroko Sato-Pijanowski.

Åse Ljones and Naoko Serino
Åse Ljones, 16al Dobbel Domino, hand embroidery on linen, stretched on frame, 56.675″ x 57″ x 2.5″, 2015
Naoko Serino, Generating 9, jute, 30″ x 30″ x 7″, 2014. Photos by Tom Grotta

Japandí in design is a fusion style that references shared aspects of Scandinavian and Japanese aesthetics.  “It is the East-meets-West design movement. It blends Japanese artistic elements and wabi-sabi philosophy with Scandinavian comfort and warmth or hygge,” Shanty Wijaya, an interior designer and owner of AllPrace told Architectural Digest in 2023. “Both Japanese and Scandinavian design aesthetics are focused on simplicity, natural elements, comfort, and sustainability. It teaches us to find beauty in imperfection, form deep connections to the earth and nature, and enjoy the simple pleasures of life.”   

paper boat sculpture by Jane Balsgaard
38jb Relief, Jane Balsgaard, iron, bamboo, willow, fishing line and handmade plantpaper, 74″ x 18″ x 12″, 2014. Photo by Tom Grotta

There are four elements highlighted in Japandí Revisted — natural materials and sustainability, minimalism, exquisite craftsmanship and, as Wijaya notes, similarities between the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi and the Scandinavian concept of hygge. A respect for materials is found in both cultures. Danish artist Jane Balsgaard spent time in Japan in 1993 and 1998, preparing for exhibits there. Works of paper and twigs were the result. In her work, white paper often contrasts the dark color of the willow twigs.  “Another element in [Balsgaard’s] works that has connection to Japan,” writes Mirjam Golfer-Jørgensen, “is the skeleton, that partly frames the paper, partly combines with the hollows in the constuction, and gives another character to the paper that with a lightness that creates a contrast towards to the hollows.” (Influences from Japan in Danish Art and Design 1870 – 2010, Mirjam Golfer-Jørgensen, Danish Architectural Press, 2013.)

Gudren Pagter and Keiji Nio
5gp Framed, Gudrun Pagter, linen, sisal and flax, 65” x 60”, 2018
14kn Large Interlacing – R, Keiji Nio, nylon fiber, 54″ x 54″ x 15.5″, 2004. Photo by Tom Grotta

These cultures share is an affinity for purity, minimalism, and simplicity. Danish artist Grethe Wittrock’s work includes expanses of twisted paper strands in single colors — minimal and simple yet powerful expressions of what Finnish Designer Alvar Aalto called “the language of materials.” Wittrock observed the similar appreciation for minimalism firsthand when she traveled to Japan and studied with Japanese paper makers and renowned indigo dyer, Shihoko Fukomoto. “I started to uncover what Nordic sensibilities are by living abroad,” Wittrock says. “I lived in Kyoto, and saw an aesthetic in Japanese design similar to the Nordic tradition. You could say that there is an agreement that less is more. As they say in the Nordic countries ‘even less is even more.’” Gudrun Pagter is another Danish artist whose abstract works in primary colors reflect the modernism for which Scandinavia is known. “From the exotic and foreign land we find an aesthetically common understanding of a minimalist idiom,” Pagter says, “an understanding of the core of a composition — that is, cutting off everything ‘unnecessary.’”

Grethe Wittrock and Jiro Yonezawa
Grethe Wittrock , 2gr The Second Cousin, white paperyarn knotted on steelplate, 67” x 78.75”, 2006
Jiro Yonezawa, 100jy Red Fossil 20−4, bamboo, urushi laquer, 22.5” x 21.25” x 21”, 2020. Photo by Tom Grotta

Meticulous craftsmanship is another element heralded in Japandí. Stainless steel fibers are masterfully incorporated into the work of three of the artists in this exhibition. Agneta Hobin of Finland weaves the fine threads into mesh, incorporating mica and folding the material into shapes — fans, strips, and bridges. Jin-Sook So’s work is informed by time spent in Korea, Sweden, and Japan. She uses transparent stainless steel mesh cloth, folded, stitched, painted and electroplated to create shimmering objects for the wall or tabletop. The past and present are referenced in So’s work in ways that are strikingly modern and original.  She has used steel mesh to create contemporary Korean pojagi and to re-envision common objects — chairs, boxes and bowls. Kyoko Kumai of Japan spins the fibers into ethereal, silver landscapes.

Toshio Sekiji and Eva Vargö
Toshio Sekiji, 34ts Counterpoint 8, Korean newspapers; black urushi lacquer, 28″ x 25″ x 4″, 2009
Eva Vargö, 6ev No. 55 (Book of Changes), linen, thread, paper strings, gold leaves, 31.75” x 29.375” x 1.5,” 2019. Photo by Tom Grotta

Several artists in the Japandí exhibition evidence an appreciation for repurposing materials as wabi-sabi envisions. Toshio Sekiji’s works are made of newspapers from Japan, India and the US and even maps from Jerusalem. Paper is a material that creates an atmosphere as well as art. Eva Vargö, a Swedish artist who has spent many years in Japan, describes how washi paper, when produced in the traditional way, has a special quality — light filters through paper from lamps and shoji screen doors creates a warm and special feeling, in keeping with the appreciation of the imperfect embodied in wabi-sabi and wellness and contentment in hygge.

A sneak peek — here’s the Wayne exhibition in 2-D. Photo by Tom Grotta.

We hope you can make it to Pennsylvania this winter!

Art Out and About: Fall 2024

October 16, 2024 0 Comment

It’s Fall, which means a new crop of exhibitions in the US and abroad. We took a day off after Ways of Seeing, our recent exhibition, closed, and visited two exhibitions in our neighborhood, but there are others to see — from Washington, DC to Greencastle, Indiana to Dussedorf, Germany.

Tara Donovan
Aggregations by Tara Donovan at The Bruce Museum. Photo by Tom Grotta

Tara Donovan: Aggregations
Through March 9, 2025
The Bruce Museum
1 Museum Drive
Greenwich, CT 06830

“Known for her experimentation with materials and her rigorous, labor-intensive process, Tara Donovan is something of an alchemist. She transforms the mundane and familiar into the strange and otherworldly, even as her works approximate things found in the natural world. At the the Bruce, the artist explores the additive effects of “accumulating identical objects,” or aggregations, in which she layers and combines materials together to complicate visual distinctions between part and whole. The final monumental work inhabits the gallery with an almost animate presence, calling to mind a mineral or petrified plant.

Kumi Yamashita
Portraits by Kumi Yamashita at The Flinn Gallery. Photo by Tom Grotta

The Elusive Art of Kumi Yamashita
Through November 6, 2024
Flinn Gallery
Greenwich Library
101 West Putnam Avenue, Second Floor
Greenwich, CT 06830

Kumi Yamashita uses a series of techniques and simple materials to creating intriguing works of art. Discussing her shadow art series, Yamashita explains, “I sculpt using both light and shadow. I construct single or multiple objects and place them in relation to a single light source. The complete artwork is therefore comprised of both the material (the solid objects) and the immaterial (the light or shadow).” The exhibition also features provocative portraits crafted by meticulously winding a single, unbroken sewing thread around thousands of small galvanized nails and portraits on sheets created by stamping with vibram shoe soles.

Sheila Hicks
Sheila Hicks, Labyrinthe du paradis, 2024, Photo: Claire Dorn, © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2024

Sheila Hicks
Through February 23, 2025
Kunsthalle Düsseldorf  (Opening Friday, October 11 at 6pm)
Josef Albers Museum Quadrat Bottrop (Opening Saturday, October 12 at 2pm)
Dusseldorf and Bottrop, Germany

Opening this Fall, the Josef Albers Museum Quadrat Bottrop and the  Kunsthalle Düsseldorf will present the first major solo exhibition of Sheila Hicks (b. 1934) across two cities. Comprising a total of 140 works from all creative periods, the collaborative presentation provides a comprehensive overview of the the artist’s multifaceted oeuvre for the first time in Germany.Sheila Hicks’ unique practice unfolds in the interplay between material, color, and space: in large and small-format wall works, tapestries, reliefs, sculptures, and installations, the seemingly infinite possibilities of these three dimensions unfurl. “What can you do with thread?” is the question that the artist has tirelessly explored since studying with Josef Albers at the Yale School of Art in the 1950s. 

DY Begay
DY Begay and her work. Photos by Helena Hernmarck

Sublime Light: Tapestry Art of DY Begay
Through July 13, 2025 
National Museum of the American Indian
National Mall
Fourth Street & Independence Avenue
Washington, DC 20560

Sublime Light: Tapestry Art of DY Begay celebrates more than three decades of innovation by fiber artist DY Begay (Diné [Navajo], b. 1953). As the materials from National Museum of the American Indian explain, “Begay’s tapestry art is at once fundamentally modern and essentially Diné, each work an exploration of the artist’s passion for experiencing and interpreting her world. The primary world that Begay explores is Tsélaní, her birthplace and homeland on the Navajo Nation reservation. From this firm foundation, her innate and lifelong curiosity has motivated her to investigate the expressive power of color and design in developing her distinctive aesthetic. Begay creates unique artworks that bridge her traditional Diné upbringing and experimental fiber art practice. Through her embrace of color, passion for design, and innovative handling of fiber, Begay creates art that expresses a non-Western way of being to a contemporary audience.” Sublime Light is the first retrospective of Begay’s career, showcasing 48 of her most remarkable tapestries.

Gudrun Pagter
Two vertical and two horizontal greens tapestry. Photo by Gudrun Pagter

ACROSS
Through November 10, 2025
Kalundborg Art Association
BispegaardenKalundborg, Denmark

Anne Bjørn, Gudrun Pagter, Gurli Elbaegaard and Lisbeth Voight Durand are featured in a group exhibition at the Kalundborg Art Association, entitled ACROSS.

Jiro Yonezawa
Spiraling, Twisting, Unraveling installation. Photo courtesy of ASU

Spiraling, Twisting, Unraveling: Explorations in Pattern and Form
Through June 29, 2025
ASU Art Museum
51 East 10th Street
Tempe, AZ  85281

Culled entirely from the Arizona State University’s Art Museum’s collection, Spiraling, Twisting, Unraveling: Explorations in Pattern and Form explores the dynamic landscape and languages found through contemporary craft today. The exhibition features twenty-five artists, including Christine Joy, Kay Sekimachi, Mary Giles, John Garrett, Polly Adams Sutton, and Jiro Yonezawa who examine dimensions of decoration, pattern and form through their varied practices to engage with some of the most pressing issues of our time.

Patterns of Abstraction
Installation: Patterns in Abstraction. Photo by by Mike Jensen

Patterns in Abstraction: Black Quilts from the High’s Collection
Through January 5, 2025
High Museum of Art
1280 Peachtree St, NE
Atlanta, GA 30309

According to the High Musuem, for more than a century, the potential kinship between quilts and abstract painting has sparked lively debate. “Although the color-rich geometric patchwork of quilts is visually resonant with examples of abstract painting often credited as pinnacles of artistic innovation, many have argued that such comparisons fail to honor the integrity of quilts within their distinct conditions of production. Quilts made by Black women have too often been left out of the conversation altogether.” The High has collected Black quilts since the 1980s and recently has quintupled its holdings to ensure that Black quilts have a continually rotating presence in the museum’s collection galleries. Patterns in Abstraction: Black Quilts from the High’s Collection aims to answer a larger question: “How can quilts made by Black women change the way we tell the history of abstract art?”

Lia Cook
Installation: Beyond: Tapestry Expanded. Photo by Stuart Snoddy

Beyond: Tapestry Expanded
Through Dec 8, 2024
American Tapestry Alliance
Richard E. Peeler Art Center
DePauw University 
10 West Hanna Street
Greencastle, IN 46135

Beyond: Tapestry Expanded is a curated and juried exhibition that features work from artists, including Lia Cook, exploring the expansive properties of tapestry. Using the definition of tapestry as a nonfunctional, handwoven pictorial structure, artists combine both hand and digital processes, using non-traditional materials, creating three-dimensional forms, or incorporating multi-media components, including sound and video. 

Enjoy!

Art Assembled – New This Week in September

October 3, 2024 0 Comment

September has been a remarkable month at browngrotta arts, highlighted by the success of our exhibition, Ways of Seeing. We are immensely grateful to everyone who came out to join us for our Fall Art in the Barn exhibition. Your support means the world to us, and we are grateful for every opportunity we get to connect with each of you.

As we reflect on this past month, we’re excited to recap the talented artists featured in our New This Week series throughout September. Read on to see what talented artists we’ve put a spotlight on!

Mary Merkel-Hess
212mm Another Autumn, Mary Merkel Hess, paper cord, paper, 28″ x 18″ x 12″, 2023.

Kicking off the month, we had the pleasure of highlighting the work of Mary Merkel-Hess. Known for her intricate sculptures that evoke the natural world, Merkel-Hess draws inspiration from the beauty found in her surroundings. Using reed, paper, and paper cord, she creates what she refers to as “landscape reports,” sculptural forms that reflect her deep connection to nature.

Merkel-Hess’s work often incorporates broken borders and insets, allowing the viewer to engage with the layers and textures she so thoughtfully constructs.

Merkel-Hess was also one of the 20 women artists who were featured in, Impact: 20 Women Artists to Collect, in September. It’s no wonder to us why her work comes so acclaimed!

John McQueen
81jm The Weight of Empty, John McQueen, willow, 50″ x 26″ x 26″, 2020

We then turned our spotlight to the remarkable John McQueen and his intricate work. A sculptor, McQueen arranges natural materials to create vessels, sculptural figures, and representational images that challenge our perception of the natural order.

His bark-covered sculptures and drawings made from sticks lead viewers to reconsider their relationship to nature. McQueen’s work has been acquired by numerous prestigious museums, including the Museum of Arts and Design and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and he is recognized with several accolades, such as the Gold Medal of the American Craft Council for his impactful contributions to the field of sculpture.

Nancy Koenigsberg
58nak Pocket Scroll, Nancy Koenigsberg, twisted copper, 73.5″ x 17.5″ x 6″, 2007

Following McQueen, we featured the captivating work of Nancy Koenigsberg. As a celebrated artist and educator, Koenigsberg’s pieces are a testament to her exploration of materiality and technique. Utilizing her expertise in weaving and embroidery, she creates intricate textile artworks that often reflect personal narratives.

Koenigsberg’s practice challenges the boundaries of traditional textile art, as she incorporates various techniques and materials to create layered, textural compositions that resonate with emotion and meaning.

She is one of our favorite artists to date, and we hope you all enjoy her work as much as we do!

Anneke Klein
7akl Black Monologue, Anneke Klein, hemp, cotton, linen, acrylic paint, 28.5″ x 28.5″ x .5″, 2020.

We then turned our attention to Anneke Klein, a talented artist from the Netherlands originally educated as a goldsmith. Her passion for weaving emerged from a desire to move away from hard, cold materials toward the warmth and softness of textiles. After designing and manufacturing clothing, she created commissioned works for renowned artists such as Richard Tuttle and Alexis Gautier, showcasing her ability to blend her goldsmithing precision with textile art.

Klein has developed her own style for wall objects, often employing the rhythmic and repetitive expressions learned during her time as a goldsmith. Her work reflects a unique exploration of materials, inviting viewers to engage with both tactile and visual elements.

Jin-Sook So
71jss Soul of Bowl II, Jin-Sook So, steel mesh, electroplated silver, pure gold leaf, acrylic, steel thread
6” x 12.75” x 9.75”, 2023.

Finally, we highlighted the work of Jin-Sook So, an artist renowned for her innovative approach to fiber art. So’s creations are characterized by their intricate layering and attention to detail, reflecting her deep understanding of traditional techniques while embracing contemporary aesthetics. Her work often incorporates elements of nature and cultural heritage, inviting viewers to consider the connections between art and identity. Jin-Sook So’s dedication to her craft and her ability to weave together diverse influences make her work truly exceptional.

As we step into October, we extend our heartfelt thanks to all who engaged with our September New This Week features and our Ways of Seeing exhibition. Your support means the world to us! Stay tuned for more artistic explorations and updates as we continue this creative journey together.

Ways of Seeing: On Assembling

September 25, 2024 0 Comment

Ways of Seeing, our Fall art event, is mid-exhibition today. It’s a celebration of collecting and the myriad ways that people acquire and arrange art. We’ve put together some groupings within the show and thought of others. We’ll share some of them below for those of you who can’t attend in person. For example, collecting by material, even one as ubiquitous as paper, can result in a varied collection. We put together a wall of works on paper: a print using xerography by Katherine Westphal, a painting on paper by Claude Vermette, collages by Norma Minkowitz and Hideho Tanaka, an intricately folded paper work by Dail Behennah, a composition of twisted commercial paper by Wendy Wahl, and an assemblage of colored sandpaper by Marian Bijlenga.

Gallery Wall of paper works
left to right, top to bottom:
Katherine Westphal, 10w Amphora and Fern, 1993; Wendy Wahl, 2ww 7 by 7 and 22, 1999; Marian Bijlenga, 37mb Luitzen, 2019; Hideho Tanaka, 31ht Emerging 008, 2016; Norma Minkowitz, 114nm The Seeker, 2014; Claude Vermette, 126c Untitled, 1980; Dail Behennah, 56db Two Golds, 2019; Toshio Sekiji, 26ts Lacquered and Torn, 1998. Photo by Tom Grotta

A more unusual material choice — assembling items made of materials from the sea, will also result in a wildly diverse group of works. We’re showing baskets of seaweed, wall work of fish skin and fish scales, and works that incorporate sea sand and sea stones. 

Artwork with sea materials
12jle Bivalve, Jeannet Leendertse, 2023; 5ab Threading Fish, Annette Bellamy, 2023; 40mb Scale Flowers, Marian Bijlenga, 2019; 32kn Sazanami(Ripples), Keiji Nio , 2022; 35sl Coast, East Riding of Yorkshire 1-3, Sue Lawty, 2024. Photos by Tom Grotta

Collecting by artist can yield a broad mix of results. Choosing a category, like Polish, LQBTQ+ or self-taught artists, can result in considerable variation. Even a single artist, if it is one who experiments relentlessly like Jiro Yonezawa, can ground a surprising collection.

Bamboo works by Jiro Yonezawa
Jiro Yonezawa 109jy Yellow Lady Bug, 2021; 95jy Ecdysis , 2019; 64jy Ascension, 2006 92jy Orbit, 2019. Phots by Tom Grotta

There are four very different works by this artist in Ways of Seeing, and they don’t even include the wide bamboo spheres which he has created more recently. 

Works by Hisako Sekijima
Hisako Sekijima
650hs Suspended Decision, 2021; 620hs From 2 to 3 Dimensions V; 643-655hs A Line of Willow, 2020; 639-651hs Bound to Continue VII; 625hs Structural Discussion VI, 2016

Basketmaker Hisako Sekijima, who has worked in everything from cherry bark to kudzu is another example of someone who can be collected in multiples. Lia Cook is another — her practice has moved in several different and exciting ways through out her career.

Works by Lia Cook
Lia Cook 55lc Between Clouds , 1978; 4lc Crazy Quilt: Royal Remnants, 1988; 16lc Presence/Absence: Gather, 1998; 28lc Su Brain Tracts Renew, 2014. Photos by Tom Grotta

Then there are them groupings — we are showing art related to water, but even a color, like Picasso’s blue period, can be an energizing organizing principle. We’ve gathered weavings and objects that meet that criteria: 

Blue Textiles
12lt Cross, Laura Thomas, 2023; 25gs Blue Color Gradation, Grethe Sørensen, 2005; 14jle Blue Levels, Jeannet Leenderste, 2019. Photos by Tom Grotta

There are a few days to see our compilations in person. Or you can order the catalog: https://store.browngrotta.com/c-54-ways-of-seeing/

Happy Hunting!

Ways of Seeing: how individuals envision and curate their art collections

Through September 29, 2024
browngrotta arts
276 Ridgefield Road
Wilton, CT 06897
https://browngrotta.com/exhibitions

Gallery Dates/Hours:
Monday, September 23rd through Saturday, September 28th: 10am to 5pm (40 visitors/ hour) Sunday, September 29th: 11am to 6pm [Final Day] (40 visitors/ hour)

Safety protocols: 
Reservations strongly encouraged; No narrow heels please (barn floors)

Ways of Seeing: Make a Day of it

September 18, 2024 0 Comment

If you are heading to Wilton to join us at Ways of Seeing sometime between September 21st and the 29th, there are some other art stops you might make on the way. 

Year of the Dragon
through November 10, 2024
Yale University Art Gallery
1111 Chapel Street (at York Street)
New Haven, CT
https://artgallery.yale.edu/exhibitions/exhibition/year-dragon

Kohyama Yasuhisa, Kaihō Yūshō screens
Attributed to Kaihō Yūshō, One of a Pair of Screens with Dragons and Waves, Japan, Momoyama period (1573–1615). Superimposed Ceramic: Kaze (Wind), Yasuhisa Kohyama. Photos by Janet Sullivan, courtesy of the Yale Art Gallery.

This exhibition celebrates the Year of the Dragon, with a presentation of nearly 30 artworks spanning from the 17th century to the present day. In the West, the dragon has historically been characterized as an evil creature, flying through the air while breathing fire from its mouth, but in the East, the dragon is believed to possess power in the celestial realm and to pour out blessings in the form of rainwater over swirling wind. The dragon also has a place in the Eastern zodiac calendar—alongside 11 other animals. The objects on view, feature dragons on folding screens, other paintings, textiles, ivory, woodblock prints and a ceramic by Yasuhisa Kohyama. Taking inspiration from East Asian history, folklore, and myth, these works demonstrate a long, complex, and continuing artistic tradition around this fantastical creature. 

Jonathan Becker: Lost Time
through January 26, 2025
Katonah Museum of Art
134 Jay Street
Katonah, NY 10536
https://www.katonahmuseum.org/exhibitions/exhibition/jonathan-becker-lost-time

Patricia Herrera at home, New York, 18 July 2001. Photo by Jonathan Becker, courtesy of The Katonah Museum of Art

Jonathan Becker: Lost Time features more than fifty of the artist’s photographs of influential figures from the worlds of politics, fashion, arts, and culture. Captured through the lens of his Rolleiflex camera, the striking, square-format images reveal intimate, closely observed scenes that serve as both timely and timeless portraits. Becker’s mastery of light, shadow, and saturation is evident across his work in both black and white and color mediums, evinced by the lush, velvety charcoal tones and dazzling chromatic range of his prints.

Tara Donovan: Aggregations
through March 9, 2025
Bruce Museum of Art
1 Museum Drive
Greenwich, CT 06830
https://brucemuseum.org/whats-on/tara-donovan-aggregations

Tara Donovan (American, b. 1969), Untitled, 2014 , acrylic and adhesive , Courtesy of the Artist and Pace Gallery , Photo: Kerry Ryan McFate, courtesy Pace Gallery

Brooklyn-based artist Tara Donovan reimagines and elevates everyday, mass-manufactured materials into the realm of fine art. In her sculptures and large-scale installations, she employs a range of objects—disposable Styrofoam cups, index cards, paper plates, pencils, pins, rubber bands, straws, tar paper, and even toothpicks—transforming their physical properties and functions. While some of her works are inspired by abstraction and the pure geometry of the grid, others conjure up the sublime, evoking geological phenomena, biomorphic shapes, and organic, cellular forms.

Ways of Seeing
September 21 – 29, 2024
browngrotta arts
276 Ridgefield Road
Wilton, CT 06897
https://browngrotta.com/exhibitions

Ways of Seeing installation
pictured works by Lia Cook, Carolina Yrarrázaval, Lilla Kulka, Lawrence LaBianca, Mariette Rousseau-Vermette. Photo by Tom Grotta

Ways of Seeing explores how individuals envision and curate their art collections. 

Gallery Dates/Hours:
Saturday, September 21st: 11am to 6pm [Opening & Artist Reception]
Sunday, September 22nd: 11am to 6pm (40 visitors/ hour)
Monday, September 23rd through Saturday,September 28th: 10am to 5pm (40 visitors/ hour)
Sunday, September 29th: 11am to 6pm [Final Day] (40 visitors/ hour)
Schedule your visit at POSH. 

Safety protocols: Reservations strongly encouraged; No narrow heels please (barn floors)

See you soon!

Ways of Seeing, Part Three: Right-Sized

September 11, 2024 0 Comment
Ways of Seeing Right Sized installation
Gali Cnaani, 8gs Red Dress, 2006; Jennifer Falck Linssen, 14jl Insight, 2016; Mia Olsson, 4mo Traces 4 Relief, 2006; Lewis Knauss, 38lk Spiked Horizon 2018; Paul Furneaux, 8pf Soft Sea Lewis II, 2024; Mary Merkel-Hess, 61mm Sun Series Orange, 2013; Sue Lawty, 35sl Coast East Riding of Yorkshire 1-3, 2024. Photo by Tom Grotta

“Right-sized” refers to adjusting something to an appropriate or optimal size. In Right-Sized, the third exhibition within Ways of Seeing, we explore collections through this lens. We’ve drawn inspiration from collectors who focus on intention and specificity—such as historic textiles, woven portraits, and Japanese baskets.

Laura Thomas
9lt Focus, Blue IV, Laura Thomas, glass, cotton, linen, silk, 16.75″ x 16.75″ x 1″, 2023. Photo by Tom Grotta

Herb and Dorothy Vogel, for example, a postal worker and a librarian, built a world-class collection of Minimalist and Conceptual art in their New York apartment, mindful of both affordability and space constraints. One artist noted that they would only purchase works they could transport home via subway or taxi. Similarly, Lloyd Cotsen, known for his diverse collections, including Chinese bronze mirrors, children’s books, and Noah’s arks, considered size in his creation of The Box Project, now housed at The Textile Museum at The George Washington University Museum For this project, Cotsen requested 36 artists to create three-dimensional works that fit within boxes measuring either 14 x 14 x 2 .5 inches or 23 x 14 x 2.5 inches. The goal was to observe how contemporary fiber artists navigated challenges related to physical restrictions and dimensions. In Right-Sized, we have selected works that adhere to specific parameters of small size, much like Cotsen’s project, while also considering affordability, akin to the Vogels’ approach.

noriko takamiya
34nt Revolving Cross, Noriko Takamiya, paper, 5.5″ x 7.75″ x 4.5″, 2024. Photo by Tom Grotta

Right-Sized is characterized by its diversity in materials, techniques, and approaches. The exhibition includes a variety of framed paper works—pleated, painted, printed, and collaged—alongside a salon wall of eclectic pieces, including sculptural works made from sisal, paper, linen, and hemp, a “weaving” of copper, “drawings” in stone, and a Japanese watercolor woodblock print (mokuhanga). We have assembled a grouping of cubes and spheres of everything from bark to jute to stainless steel and another of baskets of natural materials, each at least 12 inches high. Elsewhere In Right-Sized, viewers will find exquisite embroidery by Diane Itter, wood vessels by Markku Kosonen, willow sculpture by Lizzie Farey, and threads embedded in perspex by Laura Thomas.

Diane Itter
Detail: 1di Ribbon Rain, Diane Itter, knotted thread on linen, 23.25″ x 14.75″, 1984. Photo by Tom Grotta

With its eclectic assortment of more than 70 works, Right-Sized seeks to engage viewers’ impulses to classify, organize, and collect.

See what we have assembled, in person, or in the Ways of Seeing catalog: 

Exhibition Details:
Ways of Seeing
exploring ways individuals envision and curate art collections
browngrotta arts
276 Ridgefield Road
Wilton, CT 06897

Gallery Dates/Hours:
Saturday, September 21st: 11am to 6pm [Opening & Artist Reception]
Sunday, September 22nd: 11am to 6pm (40 visitors/ hour)
Monday, September 23rd through Saturday,September 28th: 10am to 5pm (40 visitors/ hour)
Sunday, September 29th: 11am to 6pm [Final Day] (40 visitors/ hour)

browngrotta.com

Schedule your visit at POSH. 
Safety protocols: Reservations strongly encouraged; No narrow heels please (barn floors)

Our Sponsor