by Mary Beth Smalley
Takashimaya Co. Ltd
8.125" x 8.125", b&w 36 pages, 1995

What happens when the traditional motivation and craftsmanship of the basket exist, but the concept of the basket has been reformulated to assume a metaphorical stance? The answer offered in the Volume & Void: Contemporary Basketry, an exhibition at Gallery Takashimiya, New York, New York: Forms result, forms that are not dictated by functionalism but are derived from an intuitive alliance between the materials and the basketmaker’s skill at shaping them – forms that consciously play with volume and void.