Esphyr Slobodkina in her Great Neck Studio working on Levitator Abstraction. Courtesy of the Slobodkina Foundation.
Dena (Dinah Rubenstein) (American 1910–1987). Louise Nevelson, 1964, Photograph, 10 1/4 x 11 9/16 in. (26 x 29.4 cm.). Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Virginia, Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.2207.19.
The University of Arkansas Press is excited to announce the forthcoming publication of Architects of Being: The Creative Lives of Louise Nevelson and Esphyr Slobodkina by Catherine Walworth.
Architects of Being is a scholarly exhibition catalog that brings together the artistic journeys and architectural visions of two pioneering figures in twentieth-century art, Louise Nevelson and Esphyr Slobodkina, who confronted the entrenchment of midcentury America’s male-dominated art world. For the first time, their lives, works, and legacies are placed in dialogue, exploring their intertwined yet distinct creatives paths as independent, immigrant women in a time of cultural conformity.
Richly illustrated and expertly researched, this catalog of objects has assemblage at its heart, showcasing a vivid collection of sculptures, mixed media reliefs, collages, jewelry, and clothing. As builders of structure, Nevelson, the self-proclaimed “architect of shadow,” transformed the remnants of urban demolition into monumental edifices. Slobodkina, known for her multidisciplinary brilliance, designed private spaces, children’s reading rooms, and her own studio. Drawing from archival research and contributions from distinguished curators and art historians, each chapter reflects on these women’s legacies from a different perspective, with topics ranging across fashion, immigrant experiences of Russian and Ukrainian Jewish women, and the challenges and triumphs of midcentury women artists.
Together, the essays in this catalog amplify the relevance of Nevelson’s and Slobodkina’s work in today’s intellectual landscape. A conversation changer for art historians, architects, and anyone captivated by the intersection of art, identity, and innovation, Architects of Being is a celebration of resilience and the creative power of reimagining the world and oneself, revealing how architecture, whether through physical structures or identity itself, can serve as a medium for personal expression.
The exhibition “Architects of Being: Louise Nevelson and Esphyr Slobodkina” will premier at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts from October 3, 2025 to January 11, 2026. It will go on tour to the Chrysler Museum of Art and the New Britain Museum of American Art in 2026.
Architects of Being: The Creative Lives of Louise Nevelson and Esphyr Slobodkina will be published in the Fall of 2025.