Hirschl & Adler Modern is pleased to announce Women’s Work: Beyond Craft and Convention, an exhibition highlighting the richly varied and substantial artistic contributions of creative women. Spanning 150 years of art history, the show features works by Mary Cassatt, Elizabeth Catlett, Joan Snyder, Angela Fraleigh, Julie Heffernan, Elizabeth Turk, and others. This presentation doesn’t attempt to encompass the depth and breadth of art produced by women artists, nor does it seek to. Rather, it strives to challenge ever-present conceptions of gendered labor, acknowledging the social, political, and economic conditions that constrain and oppress women artists while arguing for understanding each woman’s work in her own right.
When we hear the phrase “women’s work,” the first thing that comes to mind is domestic labor: cooking, cleaning, childcare—all the duties associated with keeping a home. If we consider “women’s work” in terms of artistic production, we think of textiles: tapestry, quilting, sewing, weaving. Historically, these practices were labeled as craft and not as fine art. Their association with functionality undermined opportunities for aesthetic and technical appreciation. This has changed in recent years as museums mount exhibitions that bring craft into the institutional fold.
But even as craft receives its long-overdue celebration, the concept of “women’s work” persists, and with it the idea that some modes of artmaking are more suitable for women than others, specifically, modes which reinforce that a woman’s place is at home. Therefore, equally important to elevating craft is reconsidering the way it has been gendered. It is not that women are naturally predisposed to particular media (or subjects); rather, they historically have been limited to those that don’t interfere with established gender roles. We must also acknowledge how, despite barriers, women artists have defied and continue to defy convention to create art on their own terms.