Asked what visual image they think represents the daily life of women, nearly 200 women artists from around the world—some famous, many of them not— replied with an extraordinarily moving and powerful array of artwork that will be showcased for the first time in Boston, Oct.7-30 at Simmons University, as part of a global art exhibit.
The internationally acclaimed exhibit, “Women of the World: A Global Collection of Art,” opens in Boston Oct. 7 at the Simmons University Trustman Art Gallery, 300 The Fenway. There is a public reception Oct. 19, 4:30-6:30 p.m.; exhibit curator Claudia DeMonte will deliver a free gallery talk that day at 5 p.m. Sponsored by Merrill Lynch, the exhibit is free and open to the public.
“Women of the World is a rare and moving collection of art that Merrill Lynch is proud to sponsor,” said Caroline Gundeck, director of Women’s Business Development at Merrill Lynch. “Merrill Lynch is a long-time supporter of the arts and we felt this exhibition – with its focus on women and their ability to create uniquely powerful works of art, sometimes against incredible odds – was critically important and needed to be experienced.”
DeMonte asked female artists from 176 countries to send her their artistic representation of “woman.” Her only requirement was that the piece be small enough to fit into a standard mailing envelope. DeMonte received a variety of powerful, sometimes haunting images that include paintings, drawings, photographs, textiles, and three-dimensional collages showing radically different images of women beyond the Western Hemisphere, while offering a window into the universal aspects of women’s lives.
Each work is particular to the artist’s native country and her experiences as woman–women laboring, women in fields carrying bundles on their heads, women in refugee camps. A woman artist in England hand-crocheted a metal fiber bulletproof baby’s vest; a woman artist in Thailand appliquéd a red high-heeled shoe to a ball and chain; and a woman artist in Namibia hand-stitched a multi-colored eland. Techniques range from traditional embroidery and appliqué to new digital technology.
While coming to Boston for the first time, the exhibit has been shown around the world, most recently in New York (NY), Dallas (TX), and New Orleans (LA). In 2000, Pomegranate published a full color book in conjunction with the exhibit also entitled Women of the World: A Global Collection of Art.
Trustman Art Gallery hours are 10 AM – 4:30 PM, Monday, Tuesday, and Friday, 10 AM – 7 PM on Wednesday and Thursday. The gallery is free, open to the public and wheelchair accessible. For more information, contact Kyle Mendelsohn at (617) 521-2268 or find us on Instagram.