Centrally-located across from the White House, the Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery (part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum) is the nation’s flagship museum of American craft and decorative arts. Opened in 1972, the museum is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year by showcasing widely-diverse perspectives of craft and design with the exhibition THIS PRESENT MOMENT: CRAFTING A BETTER WORLD. The museum launched an acquisitions campaign in 2020 to enlarge the number of Black, Latinx, LGBTQ+, Indigenous, and women artists represented in its permanent collection. More than 200 craft objects were collected, and over 130 of these newly-acquired works are among the 171 artworks on display in THIS PRESENT MOMENT. Nora Atkinson, the Fleur and Charles Bresler Curator-in-Charge for the Renwick helped organize the exhibition with Mary Savig, the Lloyd Herman Curator of Craft, and Anya Montiel, curator at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.

The range of craft in THIS PRESENT MOMENT includes fiber, ceramics, glass, metal, and wood. Many of the contemporary pieces push the boundaries of what is considered “handmade” in the 21st century. Atkinson states that the museum’s priority “is to break the barriers further,” both by showcasing different perspectives and by incorporating a wide variety of media. The idea of THIS PRESENT MOMENT, she says, came from a quote by Stewart Brand in his 1999 book THE CLOCK OF THE LONG NOW—“This present moment used to be the unimaginable future.” Brand rhapsodized about living with intention, and Atkinson was struck by how relevant this concept is in today’s frenzied social media climate. To Atkinson, the idea also resonates with the Renwick’s mission to spotlight artists who “bear witness and dare us to dream of an unimaginable future.”

Exhibition Curator Mary Savig argues that “Craft has always been a measureof the present moment…because craft is inherently a measure of who we are–our labor and memory.” The exhibition seeks to capture “the whirlwind of craft today” and, by presenting the works of 148 diverse artists, asks us to consider the very definition of craft. Several contemporary works in THIS PRESENT MOMENT go back to basics–a quilt, a storage case, a pot, and other everyday items rooted in domestic life. This reviewer was wowed by some of the woven baskets–what incredible, sculptural creations they are! The exhibition, as Savig notes, eschews grand narratives in favor of “convening new conversations in the ‘grand public living room’ that is the Renwick Gallery.”

Among the exhibition highlights are Bisa Butler’s “Don’t Tread on Me” (2021) that portrays the Harlem Hellfighters’ segregated unit that fought in World War 1; Sonya Clark’s “Monumental” (2019 that celebrates Blackness while confronting the roots of racial injustice; David Harper Clemons’s “The Weight of Deferred Gratification” (219), a critique of unsustainable agricultural production and consumerism; Roberto Ludo’s “Juicy” (2021) that remixes luxury porcelain objects with a hip-hop twist; and Preston Singletary (Tlingit)’s “Safe Journey”(2021), part of his “Spirit Boxes” series based on traditional storage boxes of Northwest native communities.

Along with newly-recognized artists, established artists are represented as well. Examples include a 2010 “Soundsuit” by Nik Cave, Dale Chihuly’s “Ulysses Cylinder” (1975), and George Nakashima’s “Conoid Bench” (1977).

Left: Alicia Eggert, This Present Moment (2019-20), neon, custom controller and steel, 144 x 180 x 48″, neon produced by Amy Enlow, fabrication assistance by Teresa Larrabee, Paolo Tamez-Buccino, Jaelyn Kotzer, and James Akers. Smithsonian Museum of American Art, Museum purchase throught the Renwick General Acquisition Fund, copyright Alicia Eggert, photo, Calen Barnum.

The Renwick’s celebration of its 50th anniversary opens the door to the future as well as THIS PRESENT. How will craft imagine new worlds that, as Savig suggests, reach for “an expansive cosmos”? She believes that expressions of craft “help us feel the world we presently inhabit and make possible new stories for the next fifty years … or (for) as long as people are here to dream and make.”

The exhibition’s design deserves special note. Sprawling over two floors of the Renwick, the installation purposefully enhances the variety of arts and crafts displayed. You are always surrounded by a sense of wonder.

By Amy Henderson, Contributing Editor

THIS PRESENT MOMENT will be at the Renwick Museum until April 2, 2023. A catalogue of the same name is available at americanart@si.edu.

Exhibition catalog:

Mary Savig with Nora Atkinson and Anya Montiel. Foreword by Stephanie Stebich and contributions by several artists. Publisher: Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC, in association with D Giles Limited, London.

Year Published 2022, Pages 248. ISBN Hardcover 9781913875268

This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World? showcases American craft like never before. Accompanying a 2022 exhibition of the same name, it features artists’ stories of resilience, methods of activism, and highlights craft’s ability to spark essential conversations about race, gender, and representation. This book marks the fiftieth anniversary?of the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery, the nation’s preeminent center for the enjoyment of American craft. It honors the history of the American studio craft movement while also introducing progressive contemporary narratives.