Through more than fifty works created by thirty-six artists over the prior three decades, Division of Labor: 'Women's Work' in Contemporary Art featured recent artworks that engaged domestic materials or themes, from sewing and quilting to motherhood and housekeeping. Among its major showings were reconstructions of installations from Womanhouse, the 1972 artistic experiment by Judy Chicago and Miriam Schapiro that emphasized female empowerment. These restagings included Chicago’s Menstruation Bathroom, Schapiro and Sherry Brody’s The Dollhouse, Beth Bachenheimer’s Shoe Closet, Faith Wilding’s Womb Room, and Johanna Demetrakas’s documentary film of the project. Among other works in the show were a Yayoi Kusama Accumulation, a computer-knitted “painting” by Rosemarie Trockel, film documentation of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, and several works by male artists.
The exhibition was accompanied by a catalogue.
Division of Labor was organized by The Bronx Museum of the Arts.