Judy Mulford

Judy Mulford's intimate and emotional sculptures chronicling domestic life have been exhibited at the Museum of Arts and Design, New York, the Mint Museum of Craft + Design, Charlotte, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Renwick Gallery. The Textile Museum, Washington, D.C. and the 12th International Biennial of Tapestry in Hungary. “My work is autobiographical, personal, graphic and narrative," she says. "Each piece I create becomes a container of conscious and unconscious thoughts and feelings: a nest, a womb, a secret, a surprise or a giggle. And always, a feeling of being in touch with my female ancestral beginnings." Mulford's work is informed by her studies of the basketmaking culture of Micronesia, particularly on the islands of Truk and Ulithi. She was a member of the studio team for Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party.

Artist Statement: "Each piece I create becomes a container of conscious and unconscious thoughts and feelings: a nest, a womb, a secret, a surprise or a giggle. And always, a feeling of being in touch with my female ancestral beginnings. My work is autobiographical, personal, graphic and narrative. Instead of clay for this format, I use gourds as a base to integrate my photo images, drawings, script and babies in pouches. The gourds are surrounded by knotless netting – an ancient looping technique – symbolic because it is also a buttonhole stitch historically rooted in the home."

Selected collections and exhibition venues:

Museum of Arts and Design, New York, New York; Mint Museum of Craft + Design, Charlotte, North Carolina; Racine Art Museum, Wisconsin (Basketworks: The Cotsen Contemporary Basket Collection); Craft Alliance, St. Louis, Missouri; Arizona State University Art Museum, Tempe; Midland Center of the Arts, Michigan; Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock; (Craft in America: Expanding Tradition, traveling exhibition); The Textile Museum, Washington, D.C., (Private Pleasures: Collecting Contemporary Art); Craft & Folk Art Museum, Los Angeles, California; Szombathely, Hungary (12th International Biennial of Tapestry); Museum of Contemporary Craft, Portland, Oregon.