State Fairs: Growing American Craft at Renwick Gallery
The Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., presents 'State Fairs: Growing American Craft,' the first large-scale survey of state fair creativity, running through September 7. Featuring over 240 objects from 43 states and Tribal Nations, the exhibition includes butter sculptures, seed art, quilts, jewelry, and a sweetgrass basket by Corey Alston. Justin Favela transforms the Rubenstein Grand Salon into 'Capilla de Maiz (Maize Chapel)' with piñata corncobs. Highlights include a seed art portrait of Dolly Parton by Linda Paulsen, a geometric weaving by Agueda Martínez, and a pyramid of preserved jars by Rod Zeitler. The show celebrates rural ingenuity and community traditions.
Key facts
- Exhibition at Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.
- Runs through September 7
- First large-scale survey of state fair creativity
- Over 240 objects from 43 states and Tribal Nations
- Includes butter sculptures, seed art, quilts, jewelry
- Justin Favela's 'Capilla de Maiz (Maize Chapel)' installation
- Corey Alston sweetgrass basket, Gullah Geechee tradition
- Seed art portrait of Dolly Parton by Linda Paulsen
Entities
Artists
- Corey Alston
- Justin Favela
- Linda Paulsen
- Agueda Martínez
- Morgan Hill
- Rod Zeitler
- Margarita Cabrera
- Grace Snyder
- Peggie L. Hartwell
- Linda Nez
- Liz Schreiber
- Carol Johnson
- John K. Daniels
- Lillian Colton
- Margaret J. Gilman
- Linda Christensen
- Robert Arneson
- Abraham Lincoln
- Grandma Moses
- Dolly Parton
- Richard Nixon
- Daniel Webster
- Cyrus McCormick
- John Deere
Institutions
- Smithsonian American Art Museum
- Renwick Gallery
- Nebraska History Museum
- McKissick Museum, University of South Carolina
- Colossal
- Smithsonian Institution
- Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
- New Mexico State Fair
- Iowa State Fair
- Minnesota State Fair
- Illinois State Fair
- McCormick Harvesting Machine Company
- John Deere
Locations
- Washington, D.C.
- United States
- Syracuse, New York
- Minnesota
- Iowa
- Wisconsin
- South Carolina
- New Mexico
- Maine
- New York
- Illinois
- Boston