Feminist art exhibition in Wolverhampton confronting gender and domesticity through crochet
An exhibition at Wolverhampton Art Gallery is subverting crochet sculptures to confront our notions of femininity and domesticity.
Soft Power celebrates the art of Su Richardson, a pioneer of British feminist art who is based in Birmingham.
Richardson was born in 1947 in South Shields, Tyne and Wear. After studying graphic design at Newcastle-upon-Tyne College of Art and Design and Leeds College of Art and Design, she moved to Birmingham in the 1970s to work as a secondary school art teacher during a pivotal time when second wave feminism and emerging feminist critique erupted onto the mainstream art world.
The Soft Power exhibition showcases a range of intricately crafted crocheted objects which Richardson has made throughout five decades of her career.
Richardson said: "I am very excited to be able to combine showing my early 70s work alongside my current work, and to see them exhibited together in my lifetime!
"It’s been a long time coming, nearly 50 years, but recognition is always heart-warming!"
A summary of Soft Power reads: "Richardson’s soft sculptures embrace and subvert the medium of crochet, traditionally considered ‘women’s work’. Her beautifully crafted objects revalidate textiles and craft-making as a fine art form.
"Richardson was a notable contributor to two key feminist interventions in British art of the 1970s – the Postal Art Event, also known as ‘Feministo’, and the feminist art collective ‘Fenix’.
"These ground-breaking projects brought women artists from across the UK together to create work that challenged gender bias both in the art world and in their personal lives.
"Richardson’s iconic sculptures continue to embody a message that is still relevant and resonates with many today."
The free exhibition is at Wolverhampton Art Gallery on Lichfield Street until December 10.
