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.
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
