Three shows by women artists close out the year at Catharine Clark Gallery, posing big questions about women’s labor and domesticity in the age of “trad wives” and “MAGA style.”
Anglo-American artist Lenka Clayton’s “The Past” features her signature drawings, made with her 1957 Smith Corona typewriter. The works transform text into images that are both elegant and witty. Among the standouts are an untitled work utilizing red ink that references the color and shape of typewriter ribbons; a seemingly anarchic assemblage of letters, symbols and smudges titled “Thing Used to Clean the Typewriter”; and the art world in-joke “Anni Albers’s Handkerchief,” referencing the famed textile artist. (Pro tip: Do not miss Clayton’s “Typewriter Quilt” composed of 120 handstitched typewritten panels, a true masterwork.)
Then there’s Katherine Vetne, who has long examined symbols of feminine consumerism. The New York artist is known for deconstructing objects made from leaded crystal with a melting process that transforms them into absurd, surreal sculptures. “Between Worlds” centers her exquisite metal-point drawings of toppled table settings, limp Hermès scarves and Venus flytrap vases — beautiful yet disturbing, as if the humanity has drained away.
Hawaii-based Nanci Amaka completes the trifecta. Her 2017 “Cleanse” video series trilogy concludes with “Floors,” following “Walls” and “Windows.” In the three-channel video, the artist scrubs the floors of Honolulu’s Ward Warehouse, performing an Igbo ritual of care for the space before the building’s demolition. With the other works, on view through Jan. 3, 2026, it’s a powerful statement from an artist to watch.
