Norma Minkowitz

For many years I have been exploring the possibilities of crocheted, interlaced sculptures stiffened into hard mesh-like structures. The web-like fabric defines volume and form. Process becomes a part of the content and both structure and surface are achieved simultaneously. These mesh sculptures often make statements about enclosures and entrapment. They can suggest the safety of a shelter or a cage from which there is no escape. The vessels take the form of human bodies and body parts, as well as natural and geometric shapes. Interaction between the forms and the themes of containment create work that is both personal and psychologically complex.

I often dwell on the mysterious cycles of death and regeneration. In many of my works twigs and branches are left inside and are visible in an eerie way through the exterior of the sculpture, often suggesting connections to the human skeletal or circulatory systems. The outer netting obscures the shape within creating a sense of ambiguity in the shadows of the work. On the surface, paint and stitched lines appear and disappear depending on the light and viewing position. Intricate and random patterns are created by the nature of the open mesh structures. All of these elements combine to convey a sense of energy as the viewer moves around my sculpture. Conceptually, the interlaced fibers can lend a wonderful duality -simultaneously creating a delicate quality, but also implying the strength of steel mesh – symbolic of the human condition.

Drawing continues to be important to me and I find that the threads and wires I use mimic the cross hatching and irregularities of my pen and ink drawings. My sculpture evolves into a three dimensional drawing. Recently I have been filling the open spaces of the fiber’s netting with modeling paste having plaster-like consistency. This process creates a surface that focuses on and highlights the lines I draw with stitches, introducing a bas relief of concept, energy and movement. I often highlight these drawn lines with colors of paint.

As my work evolves, one thing remains consistent: I am engaged in creating works that weave the personal and universal together.

Honors & Collections

2017 Selected Nominee for the FID#8 International Drawing Competition, Paris France
2015 Smithsonian Archives of American Art: Artist Papers,
2009 Master of the Medium Award, James Renwick Alliance of the Smithsonian Institution
2008 Drawing Room Viewing Program, NY
2008 Connecticut Commission on the Arts, Visual Artist Grant, Works On Paper
2003 Fellow of the American Crafts Council
2002 Connecticut Commission on the Arts, Visual Arts Fellowship
2000 United Nations Association, Award honoring 100 outstanding Connecticut Women
1992 Connecticut Commission on the Arts, Purchase Award
1987 Visual Reservoirs: Object and Images In-Of-Under-About Surface; Monterey Peninsula Museum of Art, CA
1986 National Endowment for the Arts; Visual Arts Fellowship
1986 Artquest ’86, Parsons School of Design
1981 Women in Design International Outstanding achievement Award
1976 Convergence `76; Fibre Structures; Museum of Art, Carnegie Institute
1976 Cotton comes Home; International competition

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
State of Connecticut Commission on the Arts
Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, CT
National Museum of Art/Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
Denver Art Museum, Colorado
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Erie Art Museum, Erie, PA
Jack Lenor Larsen, Long House Foundation
Josephus Daniels Foundation, Raleigh, NC
Housatonic Community College Museum of Art, Twentieth Century Sculpture
Neutrogena Corporation Collection, Los Angeles, CA
Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI
Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa OK
Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, RI
Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, AR
Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI
Decordova Museum of Art, Lincoln, MA
Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, NC
"Self Portrait,"ollection of Curtis Finch Jr, promised to The Arkansas Center
M.H.de Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco, CA
The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, HI
Kwang Ju Museum, Kwang Ju, Korea
Westport Schools, Permanent Collection
Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe, NM
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Canada
Houston Museum of Fine Arts, Houston TX
Museum of Arts and Design, NY
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Arizona State University Museum of Art, AZ
Cooper Hewitt Museum, NY, Drawings, Prints and Graphic design Collection
Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MN
Museum of Texas Tech University