How Louise Nevelson and Esphyr Slobodkina employed architectural design principles
The New Britain Museum of American Art presents Architects of Being: Louise Nevelson and Esphyr Slobodkina from July 30 through November 1, 2026. Organized by the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, Architects of Being: Louise Nevelson and Esphyr Slobodkina brings together nearly 80 artworks across sculpture, painting, collage, textile, fashion, jewelry, and design—placing pioneering artists Louise Nevelson (1899–1988) and Esphyr Slobodkina (1908–2002) in dialogue for the first time.
Though neither artist was formally trained as an architect, both employed architectural design principles—including spatial construction, material assemblage, and installation—to shape their artistic practices and personas. Taking its title from Nevelson’s assertion that “character is the architecture of the being,” the exhibition considers how both artists engaged architectural thinking to construct objects, artworks, environments, as well as identities and legacies.
“These two formidable women led parallel lives, and while they individually challenged conventions in both art and life, they had an uncanny way of arriving at similar creative outcomes,” shares Dr. Catherine Walworth, the Jackye and Curtis Finch Jr. Curator of Drawings at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts. “With its playfully unexpected media, this exhibition shows that Nevelson and Slobodkina’s art definitely belongs in conversation.”
Born nine years apart in different regions of the former Russian Empire, Nevelson and Slobodkina came from Eastern European Jewish families who immigrated to the United States in the early 1900s. Tenaciously devoted to their artistic pursuits, Nevelson and Slobodkina moved to New York City in the 1920s, and emerged as pioneers of abstraction in the decades to follow. Nevelson gained acclaim for her monumental wood constructions, immersive installations, and architecturally inspired garments and jewelry, famously declaring herself an “Architect of Shadow.” Slobodkina, informed by her studies in mechanical drawing, designed two modern houses and collaborated on interior environments; her sustained engagement with mechanics and engineering is evident across her sculptures, paintings, and designs.
“The New Britain Museum of American Art is incredibly fortunate to represent cornerstone works by Louise Nevelson and Esphyr Slobodkina in its permanent collection,” remarks Curator and Head of Exhibitions Lisa Hayes Williams. “Architects of Being invites a fuller understanding and appreciation of the incredible talent and tenacity that propelled these two artists to success and influence across far-reaching endeavors that spanned architecture, design, sculpture, installation, collage, fashion, and more. Audacious and visionary, Nevelson and Slobodkina constructed their worlds, identities, and legacies, that we now celebrate in this landmark exhibition.”
Through their multimedia practices, Nevelson and Slobodkina challenged conventional definitions of art, abstraction, and architecture in mid-century America. Spanning the 1930s to the 1970s, Architects of Being foregrounds women who, undaunted by the challenges of a male-dominated art world, embraced interdisciplinary and experimental approaches to art and architecture as modes of self-fashioning and creative agency.
A catalog featuring new research and original scholarship on each artist accompanies the exhibition. Entitled Architects of Being: The Creative Lives of Louise Nevelson and Esphyr Slobodkina, the catalogue’s contributors include Dr. Catherine Walworth, Jackye and Curtis Finch Jr. Curator of Drawings at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts; Adrienne Montare, licensed architect and Fellow of the American Institute of Architects; Dr. Chelsea Pierce, McKinnon Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Chrysler Museum of Art; and Lisa Hayes Williams, Curator and Head of Exhibitions at the New Britain Museum of American Art. The catalogue is published by the University of Arkansas Press.
Related Programming:
Members Opening Reception
Thursday, July 30, 5-7 p.m.
Distinguished Lecture | “Designing Lives: Stories Behind Architects of Being” with Dr. Catherine Walworth
Thursday, July 30, 6 p.m. Catharine M. Rogers Lecture Series
Lecture | “From the Ancient to Avant-Garde: The Art of Louise Nevelson and Esphyr Slobodkina” with Lisa Hayes Williams
Thursday, September 24, 5:30 p.m.
About the New Britain Museum of American Art
The New Britain Museum of American Art is the first institution dedicated solely to acquiring American art. Spanning four centuries of American history, the Museum’s permanent collection is renowned for its strengths in colonial portraiture, the Hudson River School, American Impressionism, the Ash Can School, as well as the important mural series The Arts of Life in America by Thomas Hart Benton.
About the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts
Founded in 1937, the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts is the largest cultural institution of its kind in the state, offering a unique blend of visual and performing arts experiences. AMFA is committed to featuring diverse media and artistic perspectives within its permanent collection as well as through rotating temporary exhibitions. AMFA’s international collection spans eight centuries, with strengths in works on paper and contemporary craft, and includes notable holdings by artists from Arkansas, the South, and across the United States and Europe.
