South Carolina Sweetgrass Baskets

Mary A. Jackson

February 1st - March 11th, 2025

Receptions:

Opening reception: February 7th | 5-8pm 

Closing Reception: March 7th | 5-8pm

Curator Talk: February 7th | 6:30pm & March 7th | 6:30pm

Virtual Artist Talk: February 12 | 1-2pm

Gravers Lane Gallery is thrilled to announce its first exhibition of 2025: Mary A. Jackson: South Carolina Sweetgrass Baskets. This exhibition celebrates over 50 years of exceptional artistry by Mary A. Jackson, a renowned basket maker, storyteller, conservationist, and steward of a craft passed down through generations.

Born and raised in the low country of South Carolina, Mary Jackson hails from a long line of Gullah Geechee people, a community with deep roots in the Charleston area and on Johns Island. The Gullah Geechee are descendants of African slaves brought to the coastal plantations of the American South, primarily in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Their ancestors, originally from coastal West Africa, brought with them vital agricultural knowledge harvesting coastal seagrasses. A form of three-dimensional weaving known as coiling, produced strong utilitarian baskets. The South Carolina seagrasses have similar characteristics to the seagrasses of West Africa. The remarkable strength and durability of these baskets were ideal for transporting cotton and rice  highly valued by plantation owners.

For generations, the Gullah Geechee people have passed down the craft of basket weaving from grandmothers to daughters to granddaughters, maintaining an unbroken link to their cultural heritage. Mary Jackson’s work stands as a vibrant continuation of this tradition, blending age-old techniques with her own modern sensibilities. With each piece she creates, Jackson infuses her baskets with bold forms, contemporary patterns, and dynamic surface textures, ensuring that this centuries-old craft remains relevant to future generations.

At just four years old, Mary began her journey as an artist, and she has continued to push the boundaries of her craft ever since. Her baskets, made from sweetgrass, bulrush, pine needles, and palmetto, require great physical strength and endurance. Yet, Jackson’s designs appear effortlessly graceful. 

Mary’s work can be found in the permanent collections of The National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center, The Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, The White House Collection, The Fuller Craft Museum, The Museum of Arts and Design, and many more public and private collections worldwide. She is one of an elite group of innovative and creative people to receive a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation grant in 2008 for Crafts and Arts Technology. The Foundation has written that Mary A. Jackson is “translating practical designs into intricately coiled vessels that preserve the centuries-old craft of sweetgrass basketry and push the tradition in stunning new directions.”  The New York Times has described Mary A. Jackson as “A basket maker keeping alive and reinventing an ancestral craft.” 

As we celebrate her 80th birthday, this exhibition offers a rare opportunity to experience Jackson’s artistry firsthand. It also honors the legacy of her husband, Stoney Jackson, whose own exquisite bulrush baskets will be featured alongside Mary’s works. This exhibition, presented in honor of Black History Month, reflects the continuing cultural significance of the Gullah Geechee community and the enduring power of artistic tradition. 

Virtual Event with Mary A. Jackson | February 12th 2025 1-2pm 

In conjunction with the exhibition, we are pleased to announce a virtual event with Mary A. Jackson on February 12th, 2025, from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM. Join us for a conversation with Mary and Angela D. Mack, Executive Director and Chief Curator of the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, SC. The Gibbes will mount a comprehensive retrospective of Mary Jackson’s work in 2028, and this discussion will provide valuable insight into her artistic process and career. To register for the event, please click here or email info@graverslanegallery.com

As an educational component in recognition of Black History Month, Gravers Lane Gallery welcomes local schools, art, and after school programs, to bring small group of supervised students ( maximum capacity 10 students per conversation)  for a  casual conversation about Mary A. Jackson’s work and the history and artistry of South Carolina Sweetgrass basket making.  To schedule a date and time please contact: 

Bruce Hoffman: Bruce@Graverslanegallery.com 

We extend our heartfelt thanks to all those who have contributed to the success of this exhibition: Mary and Stoney Jackson, Nancy O'Meara (Executive Director of the Women’s Committee of the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show), Marcia Docter (Artist and Patron), Angela D. Mack & the staff at The Gibbes Museum of Art, the entire Gravers Lane Gallery team who tirelessly work to present outstanding programming and exhibitions: Chloë Le Pichon, Kate Crankshaw, Joseph Miceli, Ryan Kuck, David Mercuris, Madeline Montross and curator Bruce Hoffman. A special thank you to Ken Goldenberg for his generous support of this exhibition.

For more information about Mary A. Jackson’s work, please visit Craft in America

We look forward to sharing this remarkable exhibition with you and celebrating the enduring legacy of Mary A. Jackson and the rich traditions of sweetgrass basketry.