Renewal

A leader of the Feminist Art Movement and the Pattern and Decoration Movement of the 1970s, Miriam Schapiro employs materials that have traditionally been associated with women’s crafts. Her experience at the Rutgers Center for Innovative Print and Paper in the 1990s led her to investigate media and techniques she had rarely explored. She collaborated with printer Eileen Foti to create works that appeared anything but mechanically reproduced. Together, they experimented with a variety of printmaking processes and searched for fabrics in the garment district to achieve built-up, layered surfaces of a variety of textures, patterns, and colors. Renewal demonstrates Schapiro’s interest in constructing decorative patterns out of a wide range of materials. Using fabric, glitter, and colored glue, she creates arabesque and floral designs that rhythmically protrude across the canvas. In these motifs, she did not strive for precision but embraced the irregularities of handmade forms.