Produced on the occasion of the touring exhibition Ways of Attaching, the first institutional survey exhibition of American artist Rosemary Mayer at Swiss Institute, New York; Ludwig Forum, Aachen; Lenbachhaus, Munich and Spike Island, Bristol over 2021–2023.

Ways of Attaching provides an overview of the artist’s work, moving from early conceptual experiments of the late 1960s through to textile sculptures and drawings made in the early 1970s, before focusing on propositional and durational performances and temporary monuments made from 1977 to 1982.

Edited by Eva Birkenstock, Laura McLean-Ferris, Robert Leckie, Stephanie Weber.

You can see a conversation between Nick Mauss and Kathy Halbreich on Mayer’s work here.

This collection of the correspondence between artist Rosemary Mayer (1943–2014) and poet Bernadette Mayer (born 1945) occurs between the years of 1976 and 1980, a period of rich creativity in New York’s artistic avant-garde, and one which includes the development of major bodies of work by the two women. Rosemary Mayer was creating sculptures, watercolours, books and “temporary monuments” from weather balloons and snow, while Bernadette Mayer was working on some of her best-known publications, including the book-length poem Midwinter Day and the poetry collection The Golden Book of Words. Spanning the worlds of Conceptual art, Postminimalism, feminism, the New York School, Language poetry and more, these letters elucidate the bonds of sisterhood through intimate exchanges about art, relationships and everyday life.

Rosemary Mayer began her career in the late 1960s, experimenting with conceptual art. In 1971, she began to focus on the use of fabric as a primary medium for sculpture, to more actively pursue opportunities to exhibit her work, and to participate in a feminist consciousness-raising group. This was a pivotal period in Mayer’s life and career, and she documented it in remarkable detail in her 1971 journal.

With deep self-awareness and honesty, Mayer reveals herself, at age 28, in the process of committing more fully to life as an artist. In her journal, she records her ambitions and insecurities about her work, as well as her opinions about the art around her. She also chronicles how being an artist was interwoven into all aspects of her daily life, from concerns about money, to hanging out with friends, to being in love. The result is a striking document of the entanglement of art and life and an intimate view into the New York art scene of the 1970s, which, for Mayer, included Vito Acconci, Donna Dennis, Bernadette Mayer, Adrian Piper, and Hannah Weiner, among many others.

Rosemary Mayer (1943–2014) was a prolific artist, writer, and critic, who became known both for her large-scale fabric sculptures—inspired by the lives of historical women—and her involvement in the feminist art movement.

In 1977, she began to create ephemeral outdoor installations using materials such as balloons, snow, paper, and fabric. Mayer called these projects “temporary monuments,”. This publication is the first comprehensive presentation of this body of work and includes Mayer’s documentation of these impermanent artworks.

A talk by Nick Mauss and Kathy Halbreich about Rosemary Mayer’s work is here.