MU’s Division of Communication, Arts, and Design will be hosting an Opening Reception for “Lady Wisdom” an Exploration of the Divine Feminine in Contemporary Fiber, Pattern, and Abstraction at the David McCune International Art Gallery on Thursday, Oct. 15 (6-9 p.m.). Artist talks, class visits, field trips, and community programming will continue through December 4, 2026. The Exhibit is open during regular business hours (9 a.m.-5 p.m.) Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and by appointment on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Methodist University is unveiling a unique group art exhibition this week that is free and open to the public.
MU’s Division of Communication, Art, & Design will be hosting an Opening Reception for “Lady Wisdom: An Exploration of the Divine Feminine in Contemporary Fiber, Pattern, and Abstraction” at the David McCune International Art Gallery on Thursday, Oct. 15 (6-9 p.m.). Artist talks, class visits, field trips, and community programming will continue through December 4, 2026. The Exhibit is open during regular business hours (9 a.m.-5 p.m.) Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and by appointment on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Curated by Andrew Treague Prieto, assistant professor of art and curator of visual art exhibitions at MU, “Lady Wisdom” brings together a multigenerational roster of international and U.S.-based artists whose work in fiber, textile, painting, printmaking, and conceptual language reconsiders pattern – not simply as ornament, but as a form of intelligence. The exhibition approaches pattern recognition as a visionary way of locating female intelligence in the world, honoring the divine feminine as a spiritual energy that is at once nurturing, intuitive, and creative.
Historically significant figures, such as Anni Albers, Emma Amos, Elizabeth “Betty” Schmitt Jennerjahn, Sabina Ott, Sheila Pepe and more, are shown alongside artists Jacquelyn Strycker, Sarah G. Sharp, Katya Grokhovsky, Chieko Murasugi, Kia Love, Nava Lubelski, and Chellis Baird. The exhibition also engages the legacy of Black Mountain College in North Carolina and features generous institutional loans from The Johnson Collection.
“‘Lady Wisdom’ offers a powerful reconsideration of pattern, not simply as ornament, but as a form of intelligence,” said Prieto. “It reframes the ‘divine feminine’ not as a symbol, but as a working method in contemporary art – one grounded in materiality, care, labor, and systems of thought.”
Methodist University’s new Division of Communication, Art, & Design includes various undergraduate programs including Graphic Design and Communication & Media.
Since its opening in 2010, the David McCune International Gallery has been Fayetteville’s premiere art venue, featuring works from traveling exhibitions (Warhol, Picasso, Rembrandt, Bill Viola, and more), fine art on loan from museum collections throughout the world, and work by Methodist University students.
Funding for this program is provided by The William Frederick Bethune Fund for the Arts of Cumberland Community Foundation, Inc.
To make an appointment for Tuesdays or Thursdays, or if you have any other questions about the exhibit, please email Prieto at [email protected].