Artist Highlight: Nanette Carter

Nanette Carter (b. 1954) has exhibited her work nationally and internationally since the mid-1970s. Her abstract collages, created with Mylar and oil paint, draw influence from African American quilt-making, jazz, and Abstract Expressionism. Carter earned her MFA from Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, in 1978 and recently retired after 20 years of teaching there. She has received many grants, fellowships, and awards including the Anonymous Was a Woman award. Her work is held in numerous public collections including the Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York, and the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York.

MUSEUM SURVEY

Nanette Carter: A Question of Balance

Curated by Mary Birmingham

Montclair Art Museum, New Jersey

February 8 - July 6, 2025

Nanette Carter: A Question of Balance showcases the artist’s innovative collages of the last decade, including some installed directly on the gallery walls. A highlight of the exhibition is the monumental Afro Sentinels III, an installation of abstract “warrior” figures Carter created to combat racial injustice and protect all people of color. Additionally, a selection of representative works from the ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s reveals the firm foundation on which she built her career. Accompanied by a comprehensive catalogue, this exhibition—her first major museum survey–also acknowledges Carter’s deep connections to the town of Montclair, where she grew up, and to the Montclair Art Museum, which has collected and shown her work since the 1980s.