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Designing Women III: MOTHER Calls Attention to Female Inequalities in the Arts

05.21.21 | By
Designing Women III: MOTHER Calls Attention to Female Inequalities in the Arts

In Spring of 2017, Egg Collective opened the doors to their first “Designing Women” group exhibition. It was meant to call attention to inequalities women experience within the male-dominated design industry, to encourage diversity of representation of women and to celebrate the talented women working in the field in New York City. Women of all ages, stages of their careers working in a variety of materials, scales and disciplines were celebrated.

two event posters

Event posters, Shawna X

In Spring of 2018, Egg Collective presented “Designing Women II: Masters, Mavericks, Mavens”. The show featured an international group of work from both contemporary and historical female voices. The conversation was about how women have achieved success, blazed trails and furthered their craft over time.

wall art

Carman Winant, Body Index

This May, “Designing Women III: MOTHER” is inspired by a Harvard study finding how much the pay gap that exists between men and women can be explained by the “motherhood penalty”. It’s defined as the belief that mothers are less committed to their jobs than their male counterparts – even if the men are fathers – and therefore are not paid equally. The show challenges this norm by highlighting the work of 28 female artists and designers who are also mothers, and through their work are making notable contributions to the art and design landscape. Historical and contemporary works of both fine art and design are presented.

textile art, table, chair, stool

Charlotte Perriand, Loretta Pettway Bennett, Flow Plans

Co-curated with Tealia Ellis Ritter, the exhibition is on display at Egg Collective’s TriBeCa Showroom. Egg Collective is a New York-based design firm established by Stephanie Beamer, Crystal Ellis and Hillary Petrie. The firm also represents a small group of emerging and mid-career contemporary artists and designers. Tealia Ellis Ritter is a trained fine art photographer whose work contends with the intersecting roles of the photograph as personal document, marker of time and physical object. Ritter is a mother of two children. Hillary Petrie of Egg Collective is the mother of one.

relief art

Elizabeth Atterbury

vessel

Eva Zeisel, Schramberger Majolika-Fabrik Jug

multimedia wall art

Faith Ringgold, Dear Selma, Every Time I See A Dime, I Think Of You

floor lamp, coffee table

Gae Aulenti, Jumbo table, Natasha and Helena Sultan, Armor Floor Lamp

wall shelves and stool

Egg Collective, Landry Wall-Mount Bookcase, 2021

wall art

Imogen Cunningham, Glacial Lily (False Hellebore) & Golnar Adili Pink Letter, 2015

Jean Pelle, Lure Radiata, Lelia Vignelli, “Metaphora” Coffee Table,

chair, sculpture, wall shelves

Katrina Vonnegut, Bow Chair

folding screen, stool

Kelly Behun, Charm Table & Kai Avent-deLeon DV1 Divider

object art

Line Vautrin

living space with coffee tables and textile wall art

Lorretta Pettway Bennett, Tank

wall art

Louise Bourgeois, Hair & Boxes by Line Vautrin

rope curtain, dining table, light fixture

Lucia Derspinis, “Beehive” Hanging Lamp & Maria Pergay Bureau / Wave Desk

art sculpture

Luna Paiva, Yucca

sofa, coffee table, wallpaper

Rachel Cope, site specific installation using a tightly curated palette of oil sticks and gestural marks on raw linen or parchment paper

sculptural seating

Renate Mueller, Universe II: Shadows on the Moon

wall art

Tahereh Fallahzadeh, Untitled and Untitled

repeating wall art

Tealia Ellis Ritter, Protective Gestures

gour women

Curators

Designing Women III: MOTHER is on display at Egg Collective’s showroom at 151 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10013 through May 29th, 2021.

Kelly Beall is Director of Branded Content at Design Milk. The Pittsburgh-based writer and designer has had a deep love of art and design for as long as she can remember, from Fashion Plates to MoMA and far beyond. When not searching out the visual arts, she's likely sharing her favorite finds with others. Kelly can also be found tracking down new music, teaching herself to play the ukulele, or on the couch with her three pets – Bebe, Rainey, and Remy. Find her @designcrush on social.