Body Matters

The human body is essential to craft. This genre of art is rooted in physical labor, tactile knowledge, and material intimacy, and the resulting pieces are often intended to protect our bodies or to assist in nourishing them.

Building on that foundation, this exhibition presents works made of wood, ceramics, glass, textiles, and sweetgrass, and foregrounds their bodily resonance in terms of method of making as well as subject matter. The artists, both historical and contemporary, reveal their deep engagement with the body through figural representations and objects that address life cycles and support bodily functions. Likewise, they leave the marks of their own bodies through the labor of creation — the gestures (or lack thereof), repetitions, and physical engagement that shape each piece.

Body Matters celebrates the importance of the hand in handwork and encourages viewers to consider their own relationships with objects both in and outside the galleries. This exhibition is part of Handwork 2026, Craft in America's nationwide semiquincentennial collaboration showcasing the importance of the handmade and celebrating the diversity of craft that defines America.

^{Image at top: Bob Trotman, American, born 1947
Person of Interest (detail), 2008   
Wood, tempera, wax; 24 x 24 x 16 in. Gift of Bob Trotman and the Kohler Foundation, Inc. CMA 2023.7}