For nearly five decades, Nanette Carter (b. 1954) has made art that reflects the world around her. Using the language of abstraction—line, shape, color, pattern, and texture—she speaks to issues that burden contemporary society. Throughout her career, Carter has investigated the idea of balance, both as a compositional element and as a strategy for navigating a rapidly changing world. Nanette Carter: A Question of Balance, examines the artist’s fascination with the tension between instability and equilibrium.
Her works from the last 30 years allude to a world impacted by social injustice, political upheaval, and a nonstop stream of news and social media. Her powerful abstractions are visual metaphors for what weighs us down or knocks us off balance, and how we carry that weight.
Nanette Carter: A Question of Balance, showcases the artist’s innovative collages of the last decade, including some installed directly on the gallery walls. A highlight of the exhibition is the monumental Afro Sentinels III, an installation of abstract “warrior” figures Carter created to combat racial injustice and protect all people of color. Additionally, a selection of representative works from the 70s, 80s, and 90s reveals the firm foundation on which she built her career. Accompanied by a comprehensive catalogue, this exhibition—her first major museum survey—also acknowledges Carter’s deep connections to the town of Montclair, where she grew up, and to the Montclair Art Museum, which has collected and shown her work since the 1980s.
This show is curated by Guest Curator Mary Birmingham. Special thanks to Nanette Carter, Mary Birmingham, Gail Stavitsky, Ira Wagner, Christine Berry, Martha Campbell, Nico Del Negro , Christopher Blyth, Asif Iqbal, Alex Pavljuk, The Entire Berry Campbell Gallery Staff & The Montclair Art Museum Staff for making this video possible.
