Presences, Ghosts and Monuments: Working with Rosemary Mayer

Rosemary Mayer (1943-2014) was a prolific artist based in New York whose large-scale fabric sculptures, ephemeral installations, and works on paper are being revisited by curators and art historians as important contributions to the recent history of art. Visiting from New York City, Marie Warsh is in Aotearoa as co-director of the Estate of Rosemary Mayer to re-enact Ghosts, one of Mayer's ephemeral sculptures, in the framework of the exhibition Scores for Transformation at Artspace Aotearoa. She will provide an overview of Mayer’s work as well as sharing insights into what she is doing to ensure the artist’s legacy. We are pleased to be co-hosting her visit to Wellington with Artspace Aotearoa.

Marie Warsh is an historian and writer, based in Brooklyn, New York. Since 2015, she has been the co-director of the Estate of Rosemary Mayer (1943-2014), an artist who was also her aunt. She has helped to organize numerous exhibitions of Mayer’s work, edited several books, and made her archives accessible to researchers. In 2022, she began working with Soft Network, an organization that aims to develop and expand networks of support between contemporary artists, artist estates, and foundations through the collective realization of interdisciplinary exhibitions, resource sharing, and collaborative programming. From 2005-2022, she worked for the Central Park Conservancy where she was involved in various aspects of the history, preservation, and interpretation of Central Park.

Image: Rosemary Mayer, Scarecrow (Model) for a Field, 1978-79, Wood, fabric, linen thread, string, ribbons and fiberglass, 42 x 36 x 40 in. Photo: courtesy Estate of Rosemary Mayer