New Sculptural Donations to the Rutgers-Camden Collection of Art from Debra Sachs and Marilyn Keating
On View in the Fine Arts Building Lobby & Robeson Library, Spring 2024
“Empowered Visions” presents three generous sculptural donations from artists Debra Sachs and Marilyn Keating. Debra Sachs’s sculptures, located in the Robeson Library, are formal and material investigations on traditional forms such as baskets and vessels. In “Tiered Basket” (1992), bricks are stacked in rings which grow wider with their height, and in “Achievement” (1998), cylindrical rings are stacked representing new accomplishments. Marilyn Keating’s sculpture “Doing Battle in the Kitchen” (1986), on display in the Fine Arts Building lobby, is an important piece of local feminist art history where the artist transformed common kitchenware into a suit of armor.
Debra and Marilyn met at Moore College of Art and Design in the 1970s, where they both received BFAs and are Distinguished Alumnae. They have been active as artists in the South Jersey/Philadelphia region for 50 years and have worked on numerous important community and public art projects in the region, solo and collaboratively.
Achievement
Debra Sachs creates traditional forms such as baskets and vessels, paying special attention to form and surface. In Achievement (1998), copper wire and glass balls are applied over a tall, tiered structure. This form is inspired by ritual hats of Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, which contain cylindrical rings on top. Each time a ring is added, it represents an achievement in its owners’ life. This piece has been exhibited widely, including in a 2014 exhibition at Stockton University.
Tiered Basket
In Tiered Basket (1992), a unique sand-paint surface has been applied over the wooden form, reminiscent of coral or ancient structures. The bricks of the sculpture are stacked so that the sculpture grows and becomes wider. Along with its exterior view, its opening offers the viewer a glimpse into the interior of the structure. It was exhibited at the 1992 NJ Arts Annual Exhibition at the New Jersey State Museum in Trenton, in 1994 at Nexus Foundation for Today’s Art, Philadelphia, the Stedman Gallery at Rutgers-Camden in 1997, and Stockton University Art Gallery in 2014.
Doing Battle in the Kitchen (not currently on view)
In Doing Battle in the Kitchen (1986), Marilyn Keating turned common kitchenware into a suit of armor. The figure has rotary graters as breastplates, a helmet consisting of a bucket, colander, and whisk, and holds a meat mallet on a long pole. The armor features other interesting details, such as a corset laced up in the back, long fingernails, and high heels with spurs.
Although humorous, the work also subversively questions traditional gender roles that compartmentalize women to domestic life, as many artists did during the Feminist Art Movement in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. As suits of armor are both protective and made for fighting, this figure is ready for battle against the patriarchy. This piece was exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1988, and The Alternative Museum, New York City, in 1991.
Debra Sachs Biography
Debra Sachs is an artist based in Gloucester, NJ. She received a BFA from Moore College of Art in 1975, and a MA in Art from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque in 1978. Debra Sachs, along with her partner Marilyn Keating, has completed many public art projects in the region, including Stockton University’s Campus Center (2011), the PATCO stations in Haddonfield and 9/10 & Locust (2002), and the New Jersey Pinelands Commission offices (2001). She also served as a consultant for two projects in close proximity to Rutgers-Camden: the tile artwork on New Jersey Transit’s River Line (2003), and the pedestrian tunnel under the Ben Franklin Bridge (2000). Debra Sachs has received many awards, including two New Jersey State Council on the Arts Fellowships (1986, 1995), a NEA Regional Fellowship through Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation (1995), a George & Helen Segal Foundation Grant for NJ Sculptors (2010), and a Distinguished Alumnae Award from Moore College of Art (2009). Her artwork is included in many public collections, including the Zimmerli Museum at Rutgers-New Brunswick, the New Jersey State Museum, the Noyes Museum of Art at Stockton University, the Montclair Art Museum, and the US Embassy in Thailand.
Marilyn Keating Biography
Marilyn Keating, born in Camden in 1952, is an artist based in Gloucester City. She received a BFA in sculpture in 1974 from Moore College of Art in Philadelphia. Through the last 20 years, she has concentrated much of her energy on public art, outdoor art, and community projects, many of which were through the Rutgers Camden Center for the Arts. Marilyn Keating was involved in two public art projects in close proximity to the Rutgers-Camden campus: the tile artwork on New Jersey Transit’s River Line (2003), and the pedestrian tunnel under the Ben Franklin Bridge along Pearl Street (2000). Along with her partner Debra Sachs, Marilyn has completed many other public art projects in the region, including Stockton University’s Campus Center (2011), and the PATCO stations in Haddonfield and 9/10 & Locust (2002). Marilyn Keating has received many awards, including three New Jersey State Council on the Arts Fellowships (1985, 1988, 1991), a George & Helen Segal Foundation Grant for NJ Sculptors (2007), a Distinguished Alumnae Award from Moore College of Art (2009), and a New Jersey Governor’s Award for Distinguished Service in Arts Education (2017). Her artwork is included in many public collections, including the Zimmerli Museum at Rutgers-New Brunswick, the New Jersey State Museum, and the Noyes Museum of Art at Stockton University.
This project, along with the Stedman Gallery’s Spring 2024 exhibition Seams to be Constructed: Margery Amdur, Artist-in-Residence, are both a part of (re)FOCUS, a collaboration of over sixty arts organizations in the Philadelphia-region addressing feminist issues of marginalization, gender, social justice, and inequality. Visit http://refocus2024.org for more details.