The Bruce Museum announces the extension of “Jeremy Frey: Woven,” a comprehensive exploration of Frey’s decades-long career. The exhibition is the artist’s first solo museum show, featuring more than 50 woven baskets crafted from natural materials like sweetgrass, cedar, spruce root and porcupine quills. Originally scheduled to conclude on Sept. 7, the acclaimed exhibition is now scheduled through Oct. 26.
The exhibition reveals a rich tradition of Indigenous artistry fused with an innovative artistic practice. Forbes described Frey’s baskets as “revolutionary,” and a review in Hyperallergic noted that “seemingly opposing forces charge ‘Woven’ with an electric tension,” as the exhibition “presents Frey’s virtuosic craft as must-see contemporary art.” The exhibition first opened at the Portland Museum of Art in Maine in 2024, then traveled to the Art Institute of Chicago before its presentation at the Bruce.
Frey (Passamaquoddy, b. 1978) is best known for his novel approach to basketmaking and his skilled exploration of new weaving techniques and forms. He consistently pushes the limits of his practice, introducing new materials and boldly experimenting with color, pattern, shape and scale. Intricately woven, double-walled baskets with colors and patterns inside offer visual rewards reserved for those who linger for a closer look. “Woven” also showcases Frey’s recent foray into printmaking, bringing his meticulous weaving technique to the wall in two dimensions. A video installation titled “Ash,” the artist’s first time-based media work, invites visitors to experience the making of a basket from harvest to completion.
“‘Jeremy Frey: Woven’ is a captivating exhibition that celebrates the enduring power of a time-honored art form. Frey’s stunning basketry, a contemporary reinterpretation of ancient traditions, enables viewers to connect with the artist’s rich cultural heritage. By blending tradition with innovation, Frey honors and uplifts past, present and future generations,” said Margarita Karasoulas, the Bruce Museum’s curator of art.
Frey is a seventh-generation Passamaquoddy basket maker. The artist learned traditional weaving techniques in his 20s from his mother and through an apprenticeship with the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance. Frey pushes the boundaries of traditional basketry and employs stunning innovation to create conceptually ambitious and exquisitely crafted pieces that reflect his deep connection to the Northeastern Woodlands.
Frey is part of a small community of weavers in Maine who harvest their own materials. He gathers sweetgrass along the shore in early summer and ventures into the forest to select and fell brown ash trees, examining their growth rings and overall health. Today, he must keenly check the trees for disease. The emerald ash borer, an invasive beetle, poses a significant threat to the tree, Frey’s predominant resource.
“I’ve been harvesting more materials than usual. I fear my generation may be the last to weave with brown ash,” Frey said. “While other materials can be used, they cannot fully capture the centuries-old story inherent in this tradition.”
Today, Frey’s work is held in the public collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, Denver Art Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Portland Museum of Art and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, among many others.
“Jeremy Frey: Woven” is organized by the Portland Museum of Art, Maine. The exhibition was curated by Ramey Mize, associate curator of American art, Portland Museum of Art, Maine; and Jaime DeSimone, chief curator at the Farnsworth Art Museum. Penobscot basket maker and founding director of the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance Theresa Secord served as a cultural consultant for the exhibition. The presentation at the Bruce Museum is organized by Margarita Karasoulas, curator of art. The exhibition is complemented by a catalogue of the same name, published by Rizzoli Electa in association with the Portland Museum of Art.
Support for “Jeremy Frey: Woven” is generously provided by Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, Connecticut Humanities and the Charles M. and Deborah G. Royce Exhibition Fund.
