Fruits of Labor — Reframing Motherhood and Artmaking brings together women artists unpacking the vastly personal yet universal experience of mothering. Encompassing painting, sculpture, video, installation, photography and text-based work, the exhibition evokes motherhood thematically, but also explores the countless tangential ways in which this subject appears in artists' practice, as a mode of work and being.
The works on view underscore the particular rhythms and constraints of life with children — the interrupted and fragmented focus, the nap-length studio time, the limited resources, the "elastic" time, one that both drags on and moves frantically — and how this rhythm unfolds into creative practice.
Working from the deep trenches of early motherhood, these artists call for a shift in the paradigms of creating art, mostly in the domestic space, challenging the idea of the "solitary artist" echoed throughout Art History. Doing so, they make a compelling argument: it is not motherhood that is in conflict with artmaking but the prevailing narratives defining both caregiving and artistic expression. This is emphasized by systemic issues affecting women, particularly in the US, where public policies to support mothers are virtually nonexistent.
Fruits of Labor — Reframing Motherhood and Artmaking Is an apexart NYC Open Call Exhibition. For more information on the exhibition and related events, email visit apexart.org/davis.php or email ash.hagerstrand@ apexart.org.
Artists:
Ahna Serendren
Anna Maria Maiolino
Ashley January
Gabriela Vaisencher
Graziela Kunsch
Katya Meykson
Koyoltzintli
Sara Shaoul