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Mary Giles

Biography

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Mary Giles (American, 1944-2018) was an American fiber artist from Minnesota. Having first discovered advanced basket forms while teaching a weaving class to hight school students in the 1970s, GIles began what would become a life-long engagement with the medium. She would spend the next years seeking out other fiber artist’s, learning from Native American basket makers, and looking at indigenous art. As is the case with many of her influences, the natural world looms large in all of Giles’ works. In her earliest endeavors, Giles looked at the underwater environments she explored as a scuba diver for inspiration. Later, having spent extensive time in New Mexico, her work would reflect the unique Southwestern landscape. In her last works, Giles looked even closer to home, to the woods and the river near her studio, resulting in intimate, personal explorations in

Mary GIles’ work is in the permanent collections of numerous public institutions including: the Minneapolis Institute of the Arts, Minneapolis, MN; Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR; Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI; Contemporary Art Museum, Honolulu, HI; Erie Art Museum, Erie, PA; Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI; Fine Arts Museum, San Francisco, CA; Museum of Arts & Design, New York, NY; St. Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, MO.

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MARY GILES (American, 1944 - 2018)

EDUCATION
BS, Mankato State University, Minnesota, MN

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2018    Designing Women 2, Egg Collective, New York, NY
2017    Still Crazy After All These Years… 30 Years in Art, browngrotta arts,
​                 Wilton, CT
            Art Aspen, Duane Reed Gallery, Aspen, CO
2016    SOFA Chicago, Duane Reed Gallery
2015    SOFA Chicago, Duane Reed Gallery
2014    SOFA Chicago, Duane Reed Gallery
2013    International Triennial of Tapestry, Central Museum of Textiles,
​                 Lodz, Poland
​            SOFA Chicago, Duane Reed Gallery
2012    SOFA Chicago, Duane Reed Gallery
2010    Duane Reed Gallery, St Louis, MO
2009    Masters of Contemporary Basketry, Fountainhead Gallery, Seattle, WA
            SOFA Santa Fe, Duane Reed Gallery
            SOFA Chicago, Duane Reed Gallery
2008    SOFA Chicago, Duane Reed Gallery
2007    SOFA Chicago, Duane Reed Gallery
            Duane Reed Gallery, St. Louis, MO
2006    Fuller Art Museum, Brockton, MA
2005    Arizona University Museum, Tempe, AZ
            Long Beach Museum of Art, CA
2004    Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA

2003    Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR
2002    Boston Museum of Fine Arts, MA
2001    10th International Triennial of Tapestry, Lodz, Poland
​            Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX
            Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI
2001    Baltimore Clay Works, Baltimore, MD
2000    Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR
1999    Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA
            Craft Council, London, England
1998    Barbican Center, London, England
1995    St. Louis Art Museum, MO
            Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR
1994    Dennos Museum Center, Travers City, MI
1993    Waterloo Museum of Art, IA
            Boca Raton Museum of Art, FL
1989    American Craft Museum, NY
1987    Erie Art Museum, PA
1985    Minneapolis Institute of Art, MN

AWARDS AND HONORS
2013    US Representative at the International Triennial of Tapestry, Lodz, Poland
​            Master of Fiber Arts, Renwick Alliance of the Smithsonian Museum,
​                 Washington, DC

COLLECTIONS
Minneapolis Institute of the Arts, Minneapolis, MN
Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR
Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI
Contemporary Art Museum, Honolulu, HI
Erie Art Museum, Erie, PA
Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI
Fine Arts Museum, San Francisco, CA
Museum of Arts & Design, New York, NY
St. Louis Art Museum, MO
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT

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