Christine and Margaret Wertheim and the Institute for Figuring at the Museum of Art & Design

In one of the most visually stunning shows in New York this season, sisters Christine and Margaret Wertheim and a team of collaborating makers have created crocheted segments of coral reefs as sculptures, now on view at the Museum of Art and Design. Using geometry to crochet forms that correspond to the shapes of the reefs, the sisters combine yarn and plastic trash in glittering, colorful sculptures that gratify the senses as they warn against our ongoing destruction of the world’s coral reefs. (On view through Jan 22nd).

Christine Wertheim and Margaret Wertheim with Sarah Simons, Clare O’Callaghan, Kathleen Greco, Evelyn Hardin, Matthew Adnams, Christina Simons, and Jemima Wyman, (detail) Coral Forest – Ea, Plastic shopping bags, The New York Times wrappers, Hula-Hoop, plastic spades, found objects, yarn, felt, Sonotube, chicken wire, 2009 – 14.
Christine Wertheim and Margaret Wertheim with Sarah Simons, Clare O’Callaghan, Kathleen Greco, Evelyn Hardin, Matthew Adnams, Christina Simons, and Jemima Wyman, (detail) Coral Forest – Ea, Plastic shopping bags, The New York Times wrappers, Hula-Hoop, plastic spades, found objects, yarn, felt, Sonotube, chicken wire, 2009 – 14.

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Merrily Kerr

Merrily Kerr is an art critic and writer based in New York. For more than 20 years, Merrily has published in international art magazines including Time Out New York, Art on Paper, Flash Art, Art Asia Pacific, Art Review, and Tema Celeste in addition to writing catalogue essays and guest lecturing. Merrily teaches art appreciation at Marymount Manhattan College and has taught for Cooper Union Continuing Education. For more than a decade Merrily has crafted personalized tours of cultural discovery in New York's galleries and museums for individuals and groups, including corporate tours, collectors, artists, advertising agencies, and student groups from Texas Woman's University, Parsons School of Design, Chicago's Moody Institute, Cooper Union Continuing Education, Hunter College Continuing Education and other institutions. Merrily's tours have been featured in The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, Sydney Morning Herald and Philadelphia Magazine. Merrily is licensed by New York City's Department of Consumer Affairs as a tour guide and is a member of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA USA)