Material Culture

at The Grace Museum, Abilene, Texas

Mavromatis creates richly textured compositions packed with meaningful references. Among the evocative combinations in this exhibition are images of suffragettes and recent protesters collaged with coffee filters into a dress form; books with English and Greek text folded to resemble architectural columns; and a quilt made from dictionary pages and portraits of overlooked but highly accomplished women. I walked out of the gallery energized by the stridency in Mavromatis’ work and impressed by her inventive techniques.

from Five Exhibitions at the Grace Museum Probe Books and Text as Art by Bill London-Gray July 18, 2022

Overall, this exhibition invites visitors to assess how everyday items, like books, coffee filters, paper, and old photos, tell the histories of a society. In this case, these items speak volumes about women’s positions in United States society in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. What is most fascinating about these artworks is that they remind us all of how relevant the material culture of the past still is in the present day.

from Materially Relevant: a Review of “Anna Mavromatis: Material Culture” at The Grace Museum by Megan Wilson Krznarich August 29, 2022