Joyce J. Scott: Messages | Chrysler Museum of Art

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A teapot created out of glass beads featuring a central figure wearing glasses and smoking a cigarette surrounded by other beaded figures. — Joyce J. Scott (American, born 1948), 'Mz. Teapot,' 2022, Teapot, glass beads, plastic beads, thread, wire, armature, woven and peyote stitch, Courtesy of Mobilia Gallery Image credit: © Michael Koryta

For more than three decades, trailblazing artist and activist Joyce J. Scott (American, born 1948) has elevated the creative potential of beadwork as a relevant contemporary art form. Scott uses off-loom, hand-threaded glass beads to create striking figurative sculptures, wall hangings, and jewelry informed by her African American ancestry, the craft traditions of her family (including her mother, renowned quilter Elizabeth T. Scott), and traditional Native American techniques, such as the peyote stitch. Each object that Scott creates is a unique, vibrant, and challenging work of art developed with imagination, wit, and sly humor.

A model wears a neckpiece made up of several beaded human figures. — Joyce J. Scott (American, born 1948), 'War, What is it Good For, Absolutely Nothin, Say it Again,' 2022, Peyote stitch, glass beads, thread Neckpiece shown on model Aisha Butler, Courtesy of Mobilia Gallery Image credit: © Jeff Butler

Scott has been many things during her illustrious career: quilter, performance artist, printmaker, sculptor, singer, teacher, textile artist, recording artist, painter, writer, installation artist, and bead artist. The scope of her work is extraordinary, and she has garnered particular acclaim for her technical skills in beading and her contributions to the transformation of this medium.

In this exhibition, thirty-four remarkable beaded works of art spanning the artist’s career express contemporary issues and concepts. Included in the show is Scott’s recent beaded neckpiece, War, What is it Good For, Absolutely Nothin’, Say it Again (2022). A technical feat in peyote stitch, infused with color and texture, this multilayered and intricate beadwork comments on violence in America.

Scott’s subject matter, whether social or political, reflects the artist’s own narrative of what it means to be Black in America. Meticulously hand-wrought, Joyce J. Scott’s works embody the messages she hopes to impress upon her viewers.

This exhibition is organized by Mobilia Gallery, Cambridge, MA.

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This exhibition’s accompanying catalogue features scholarly essays from experts in their field, including curator’s comments that provide deeper insights into the influences and extraordinary work of Joyce J. Scott.

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