A new exhibit is recognizing the work of women in design.
The Museum of Arts and Design is presenting tableware, textiles, jewelry and other objects made from 1950s until today. "Pathmakers: Women in Art, Craft and Design, Midcentury and Today" includes more than 100 works from artists from countries like Kenya, Sweden and Hungary.
Jennifer Scanlan, guest co-curator of the exhibit, said the idea is to highlight success stories. "We wanted to look at areas in which women were able to be very famous, important and professional artists, designers and teachers. And it turns out these areas were materials like textiles, ceramics and fine metal," she said.
The contemporary section features furniture, videos, plumbing and colorful polka-dotted textiles.
In the center of the room, there is a bench with a stiletto heel on one end and a wedge of steel on the other. It was created by Vivian Beer, a furniture designer and maker from New England. She said she likes mixing ideas. “I'm most interested in where things connect as a designer. So things that could be related that don't seem like they should be is right where I want to be,” she said.
Gabriel Maher, a transgender designer from the Netherlands, created a gender-neutral outfit. It's a loose fitting one-piece with wide-leg cropped pants. Gabriel explained she believes people can change around the meanings that are associated with males and females. “I really wanted to disrupt the constructions of gender that we see all over the place. So it's like, we always will say, ‘Oh, that's a female gesture’ or ‘that's very feminine or very masculine.’”
The show will be on display from April 28 to September 27.
