鈥淭hese boots are made for walkin鈥欌 are the famous words of Nancy Sinatra鈥檚 1966 hit song. They鈥檙e also the name of American artist Polly Apfelbaum鈥檚 (b. 1955) latest show, currently on view at London鈥檚 Frith Gallery. And once you step in, you鈥檒l start to see why. First, visitors are required to don some slippers to walk on the rugs on display 鈥 a nice witty touch. Much like the song, Apfelbaum鈥檚 show 鈥 which comprises four rugs and 13 colour-happy ceramics 鈥 works as a playful, mischievous prod to power.
The joyful, kaleidoscopic wall-hung sculptures that wrap around the exhibition were borne out of Apfelbaum鈥檚 experience returning her roots in Pennsylvania during the pandemic. During this period, the artist moved back into her childhood home, where she magpied a miscellaneous mix of influences. She was drawn to the repeated patterns and motifs of textiles and barn decorations. As a child, she was particularly taken by quilts, notably one adorned with sunflowers. Elsewhere, we see glimpses of dartboards and folk games, as well as the tradition of Pennsylvanian German terracotta. Then peppered are some kitschy pop culture titbits: a shouty Ringo Starr shirt, for example, manages to weasel in as a visual reference.
Her method of production is similarly intuitive, joyful and active. Glaze colourways congeal, bleed and bubble into each other. Uneven washes and gloopy, globular drips hang off the edges 鈥 all cut through with some sharp line work and pattern play. Apfelbaum says glaze washing is like 鈥減ainting with mud鈥, and it鈥檚 effective here. The point Apfelbaum is trying to make is that her personal Pennsylvanian world is a political one. There鈥檚 a distinct nudge to the hierarchy of the art world, which has historically excluded women from the canon. She is questioning 鈥 as she has throughout her career 鈥 how ceramics, quilts and rugs have typically been relegated to 鈥渃raft鈥, or 鈥渄ecorative arts鈥; items not worthy to be considered as “high” art. This comes through in how she hangs ceramics flat on a white wall, elevating them to 鈥減ainting鈥 status.
Moreover, Apfelbaum calls her rugs 鈥渇allen paintings鈥, a definition which collapses hierarchies even further. Distinctions between mediums are blurred; PA Abstract Quilt of 100 Colours, for example, merges quilting, ceramics and painting all at once. Meanwhile, The Potential of Women (Grayscale) was made in Oaxaca by Zapotec artisans using regional weaving and dying techniques. Throughout the exhibition, it鈥檚 clear that Apfelbaum is knotting herself with a long lineage of women 鈥 named and unnamed 鈥 who have been left out of the art historical narrative. These Boots are Made for Walkin鈥 can, therefore, be seen as a wider retelling of how we value and share the stories of women in art and culture.
Words: Charlotte Rickards
Image Credits:
1. Installation view, Polly Apfelbaum: These Boots Are Made For Walkin鈥, Frith Street Gallery, Golden Square. Photo: Ben Westoby.
2. Polly Apfelbaum, PA Abstract Florets, 2021. Courtesy the artist and Frith Street Gallery, London.
3. Polly Apfelbaum, PA Abstract Square Patch, 2021. Courtesy the artist and Frith Street Gallery, London
