About the Artist

Norma Minkowitz lives and works in Connecticut. Her work is represented in private and public collections across the United States and internationally, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The Renwick Gallery, National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; the Museum of Arts and Design, New York; the De Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco, California; the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania; and the Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Connecticut. The James Renwick Alliance named her a Master of the Medium, and she has also been recognized by the American Craft Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. She is unique among fiber artists creating hard sculptures from soft materials, and for using thread to invoke universal themes of mortality, memory, nature, and writing.

Cat. 18

All of Norma Minkowitz’s work is highly personal, but her many self-portraits are her most literal self-reflections. While these usually take the form of fiber busts, this rare collage crystallizes some of the most important and pervasive elements of her art. Her drawn self-portrait unravels into a tangle of thread that radiates across the page, suggesting that fiber is the foundation of her artistic identity. Her hands reach through the web, but are they grasping for help or expertly orchestrating the strands? Her intense stare, a floating orb, and collaged skull intensify the sense of mystery that infuses much of her work.