Women & Abstract Sculpture

David Kohn Architects were invited to design a space to celebrate radical abstract sculptures created by women artists for the exhibition. Shaping the current space by curving the corners of the existing walls, a continuous curved surface is introduced to encapsulate the exhibit. 

Making It brings together multiple propositions for art making, all of which critically engage with and extend the possibilities of abstract sculpture. Taking an unexpected approach to their chosen media: fusing gold leaf with linen for instance, folding metal or hand-knotting rope, these artists challenged the modernist conventions and expanded conceptions of the appropriate media and methods for sculpture. Spreading across the walls and from ceiling to floor, reaching across the gallery and hanging in the air, these works prefigure installation art and a broader shift toward process and materials.

Active in the mid and late 20th century, these sculptors developed new work during the era of second-wave feminism and within the concept of feminist critique. They include Olga de Amaral, Lynda Benglis, Françoise Grossen, Maren Hassinger, Barbara Levittoux-Świderska, Louise Nevelson, Beverly Pepper, Mildred Thompson and Sophia Vari.