Marjorie Schick, Chopines and Puddles, 2008, painted wood, papier mache, plastic laminat

BROCKTON, MA.- Fuller Craft Museum presents The Perfect Fit—Shoes Tell Stories, a new exhibition that explores the cultural meanings of shoes, presenting imaginative objects of every size and craft medium. The exhibition opens June 6, 2009 and runs through Jan. 3, 2010 (press opening TBA), and was curated by Wendy Tarlow Kaplan, an independent curator whose family has strong ties to Brockton’s legendary shoe manufacturing industry. After its premiere at Fuller Craft, this show will travel to other U.S. cities, dates and locations to be announced.

Fuller Craft Museum, New England’s home for contemporary craft, is uniquely poised to present this comprehensive and adventurous exhibition, which will contain approximately 120 objects from over 100 artists from all over the U. S. plus Canada and Israel. Fuller Craft is dedicated to the objects and insights that inspire viewers and artists to explore ideas through contemporary craft. In this show, shoes express more than their role as footwear; they contain multiple meanings that speak to issues of gender, sexuality, race and class. All objects in the exhibit were created after 2003.

Fuller Craft Museum also treasures its place as a member of the Brockton community, and is thrilled to be able to celebrate the city’s rich shoe manufacturing history by creating an exhibition that places shoes in a cultural context. Brockton was the largest U.S. producer of shoes during the Civil War and had a large and vibrant shoe industry until the mid-20th century.

Wendy Tarlow Kaplan was trained at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and has worked as an art curator for more than 30 years, specializing in contemporary art. She has served on the Collections Committees of the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park and Fuller Craft Museum, written for Art New England, The Encyclopedia of New England Art, and juried regional art exhibitions. She recently co-curated an international traveling exhibition, “From the Kilns of Denmark: Contemporary Danish Ceramics,” which included a scholarly catalogue. She serves as curator for the Kniznick Gallery of the Women’s Studies Research Center

Jan Hopkins, Orange Peel High Heels, mixed media.