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  John McQueen
  1000 Leaves
  2023
  Willow and string. 1000 hand constructed leaves.
  27" x 48" x 48" .

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  John McQueen
  Ring
  Willow, waxed linen, and bonsai tree.
  30 in.

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• John McQueen
  Happenstance
  2011
  Willow and waxed string
  22" x 10" x 10".
  
  “Would you do what you do if you knew what happens happens to happen to you”.  Happenstance is a classic example of the artist's woven written text in the round. 

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• John McQueen
  SPKGNTGS (Speaking in Tongues)
  2005
  Willow and string
  96" x 108"
  
  DON’T BE CAUGHT NAPPING
  FIDDLING FOR PLEASURE
  REMEMBER YOUR
  CRUMBLING FACADE
  YOU ARE LYING IN WAIT
  OH DISASSEMBLER
  SEE YOU LISTEN
  FOR WHAT'S AJAR
  
  Previously exhibited at the Flinn Gallery, Greenwich Public Library (2023), SPKGNTGS (Speaking in Tongues) consists of 96 individual letter panels, all hand-framed 

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A Thousand Leaves: Selected Works by John McQueen
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We are pleased to present a selection of works from the collection of the late artist, John McQueen (1943-2025), on view at Mobilia Gallery and online.

To celebrate the career of John, we chose to present some of our favorite works..

“His virtuoso craftsmanship and the conceptual underpinnings of his work merge to remind us that skill is subservient to meaning in artwork that nourishes both the eye and the intellect.”
– Gerald Mead,
Collector, Curator and Educator

The genius of John McQueen is evident in the artist’s work. Whether knotting, plaiting, weaving, dyeing, drawing or painting, McQueen’s magic hands transform everyday materials into thoughtful, narrative sculptures, vessels, wall mounts and drawings. His works are social commentaries on everyday life as well as figments of the artist’s imagination. McQueen’s choice of materials are both clever and practical. Birch, bamboo, willow and vines (all grown around his studio) as well as waxed lined, plastic ties, recycled metal and plastic, pencil and paint have become his sought after commodities.

In 1992, John McQueen was one of a handful of textile artists to have a one person exhibition at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Titled, The Language of Containment, the exhibition featured 43 vessels made from natural materials  “with written text often woven into their forms,” a technique for which McQueen is considered a trailblazer.

McQueen’s work has been collected by museums worldwide including:
Museum of Fine Arts , Boston; Philadelphia Museum of Art; Museum of Arts and Design, New York; Cooper-Hewitt Museum, Smithsonian Institution; Renwick Gallery, National Museum of American Art , Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC; Detroit Institute of Art; Mint Museum of Craft & Design; The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu