Daring Design: The Impact of Three Women on Wharton Esherick鈥檚 Craft
This exhibition will explore the significant impact of three women鈥擧elene Fischer (1879-1970), Hanna Weil (1900-1985), and Marjorie Content (1895-1984)鈥攐n the artistic development and career of sculptor and studio craftsman Wharton Esherick (1887-1970). Featuring innovative furniture pieces designed by Esherick for Fischer, Weil, and Content as well as artwork created by Weil, a sculptor, and Content, a photographer, Sculpture with a Purpose will investigate the visual and material dialogue between these artists and patrons.
In the 1930s, Wharton Esherick developed important relationships with three women who had a lasting impact on his life and work. His first significant patron, Helene Fischer, the director of the Schutte-Koerting manufacturing company, commissioned a series of innovative furniture for her home and business. These commissions allowed Esherick to push the boundaries between expressionist sculpture and functional furniture design and resulted in some of his most iconic works. Through Fischer, Esherick met Hanna Weil, a German Expressionist artist celebrated for her ivory carvings. Esherick鈥檚 drawings, prints, and carved wooden utensils and furniture from this time period visually convey his deep respect for Weil and her work. Inspired by his designs for Fischer, the photographer Marjorie Content also commissioned several important Esherick works for her New York City apartment and Doylestown home. The bedroom suite Esherick created for Content continued his experiment with prismatic, angular forms and echoed the strong lines of Content鈥檚 own tightly-cropped photographs of urban scenes, southwestern canyons, and floral still lifes. This is the first exhibition to explore in depth the impact of these three women鈥擣ischer, Weil, and Content鈥攐n Esherick鈥檚 innovative furniture designs and professional growth.
Sculpture with a Purpose will be accompanied by an illustrated catalogue with essays by exhibition curators Laura Turner Igoe, Curator of American Art at the Michener Art Museum, and Mark Sfirri, a celebrated woodworker, Professor Emeritus at Bucks County Community College and Esherick expert.
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This exhibition will explore the significant impact of three women鈥擧elene Fischer (1879-1970), Hanna Weil (1900-1985), and Marjorie Content (1895-1984)鈥攐n the artistic development and career of sculptor and studio craftsman Wharton Esherick (1887-1970). Featuring innovative furniture pieces designed by Esherick for Fischer, Weil, and Content as well as artwork created by Weil, a sculptor, and Content, a photographer, Sculpture with a Purpose will investigate the visual and material dialogue between these artists and patrons.
In the 1930s, Wharton Esherick developed important relationships with three women who had a lasting impact on his life and work. His first significant patron, Helene Fischer, the director of the Schutte-Koerting manufacturing company, commissioned a series of innovative furniture for her home and business. These commissions allowed Esherick to push the boundaries between expressionist sculpture and functional furniture design and resulted in some of his most iconic works. Through Fischer, Esherick met Hanna Weil, a German Expressionist artist celebrated for her ivory carvings. Esherick鈥檚 drawings, prints, and carved wooden utensils and furniture from this time period visually convey his deep respect for Weil and her work. Inspired by his designs for Fischer, the photographer Marjorie Content also commissioned several important Esherick works for her New York City apartment and Doylestown home. The bedroom suite Esherick created for Content continued his experiment with prismatic, angular forms and echoed the strong lines of Content鈥檚 own tightly-cropped photographs of urban scenes, southwestern canyons, and floral still lifes. This is the first exhibition to explore in depth the impact of these three women鈥擣ischer, Weil, and Content鈥攐n Esherick鈥檚 innovative furniture designs and professional growth.
Sculpture with a Purpose will be accompanied by an illustrated catalogue with essays by exhibition curators Laura Turner Igoe, Curator of American Art at the Michener Art Museum, and Mark Sfirri, a celebrated woodworker, Professor Emeritus at Bucks County Community College and Esherick expert.
Artists on show
