BARBARA M. BERK

Three of Barbara M. Berk’s sculptures – “Grandest French Knot”, “Interiors”, and “Not a Bow” –  have been selected for Diversity in Basketry, an exhibition of contemporary basketry by the members of the Bay Area Basket Makers guild at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles in San Jose, CA.  

The exhibition highlights both traditional and contemporary basket-making techniques and materials. Members utilize natural fibers and reeds, along with synthetic materials such as rope and wire, employing methods like coiling and knotting. Contemporary baskets often emphasize conveying emotions and ideas over functionality, resembling sculptures instead.  Diversity in Basketry celebrates this vibrant art form.  

Barbara M. Berk’s sculpture embodies the interplay of traditional fiber technologies and structures with metal.  Drawing on the sewing she loved as a girl and the metalsmithing skills she learned as an adult, she uses 16^th century stitches to make bobbin lace by hand with stainless steel and bronze wire.  She then curves, loops, twists, interweaves, layers, sews, embroiders, filigrees, welds and polishes her flat lace fabric into 3-dimensional forms, that become wall-mounted, ceiling-suspended and pedestal-supported sculptures.

San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles preserves, celebrates, and promotes knowledge about quilts and textiles, their creation, their beauty, and their relationship to human culture and expression.  The museum emphasizes “hands-on engagement and community storytelling. With many people still engaging with museums online and foot traffic slower to return post-COVID, [Director Kris] Jensen is exploring new strategies to bring people back into the space, especially by expanding class offerings in textile techniques like weaving and crocheting, reviving the artist-in-residence program, and curating exhibitions that speak to contemporary issues through the lens of fiber art.” [CONTENT Magazine/Podcast Episode #141]

The Bay Area Basket Makers (BABM) guild was founded in 1984 by Maxine Kirmeyer and Jude’ Silva to support and further interest in basketry as a craft and art form.  The guild serves as a source of information and as a means of communication among basket makers, providing inspiration and friendship.  It welcomes basket makers of all levels and expertise, from amateurs to professionals.  Most members reside in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, but a few live as far away as Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon and Utah.

​Diversity in Basketry runs from October 3, 2025 through January 9, 2026.  The San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles is located at 520 S. First Street, San Jose, CA. The museum is open Thursdays and Fridays 1 pm to 5 pm, and Saturdays and Sundays 11 am to 5 pm.  Several of the exhibition’s artists will participate in an Artists Talk on Sunday, October 12, 2025 at 1 pm.

​Information about the exhibition and the partnering organizations 

is courtesy of the BABM and SJMQT websites.

About the work in the exhibition: