CYNTHIA CARLSON
THE SHAPE OF THINGS
Duane Thomas Gallery is pleased to present The Shape of Things, an exhibition of new works by Cynthia Carlson, opening on February 12, 2026, with a reception from 6 to 8 PM. The exhibition brings together works created over the last two years, reflecting the artist’s sustained engagement with animated abstraction, movement, and the generative possibilities of drawing.
Cynthia Carlson is a pioneering figure in feminist art history and an early participant in the Pattern and Decoration movement. Emerging in the late 1960s and 1970s, her work challenged the hierarchies of modernism by embracing ornament, repetition, and visual pleasure at a moment when such elements were critically marginalized. Carlson’s practice has long foregrounded pattern as a primary structural and conceptual force, positioning abstraction as a site of resistance, play, and agency. Her influence continues to resonate in contemporary conversations around feminist abstraction and material-driven practices.
The Shape of Things will be on view at Duane Thomas Gallery from February 12 through March 14
BARBARA ZUCKER
THE SECOND OLDEST PROFESSION
THE WET NURSE REVERED, AND REVILED
Duane Thomas Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of sculptures and works on paper as well as a book launch by artist Barbara Zucker, opening on February 12, 2026, with a reception from 6 to 8 PM. The exhibition coincides with the publication and launch of Zucker’s book, The Second Oldest Profession: The Wet Nurse, Revered and Reviled, published by Abbeville Press.
Conceived as both a social history and a feminist act of reparation, The Second Oldest Profession investigates the largely erased history of wet nursing—an ancient occupation shaped by class, race, misogyny, and economic necessity. The exhibition brings Zucker’s decades-long research into physical form, presenting sculptures that explore breastfeeding, labor, care, and the female body. Several works on view are featured in the book, underscoring the deep interrelationship between Zucker’s visual practice and her scholarship.
The exhibition will be on view at Duane Thomas Gallery from February 12 through March 14, 2026. Copies of The Second Oldest Profession: The Wet Nurse, Revered and Reviled will be available for sale at the opening.