Video Craft Exhibition Explores Intersection of Film Technologies and Traditional Craft
Video Craft, currently on display at the Museum of Craft and Design (MCD) in San Francisco until August 16, 2026, delves into the formal and technical similarities shared between video, film, and early moving image technologies with traditional craft mediums such as ceramics, textiles, and glass. This unique exhibition challenges the conventional boundaries of new media art by highlighting the connections between these diverse practices.
Themes of Encoding, Looping, and Sampling
The artworks featured in Video Craft are categorized under three main themes: encoding, looping, and sampling. Encoding involves the translation of ideas from one medium to another, often resulting in a structural transformation of the original concept. Looping explores the tactile relationship between video and craft, emphasizing the physical connection and shared materiality between the two mediums. Artists working with sampling recontextualize patterns from material histories within the framework of video and film, creating new compositions that challenge traditional perceptions of media.
Curatorial Vision
Curated by Sarah Mills, PhD, and Ariel Zaccheo, MCD Curatorial Director, Video Craft showcases the work of 19 artists at various stages of their careers. From pioneers of video production like Beryl Korot to emerging digital artists such as Sabrina Gshwandtner and Kate Nartker, the exhibition demonstrates how contemporary artists are using video not to escape materiality, but to deepen their exploration of it. The partnership between craft practices and digital media in Video Craft challenges viewers to reconsider the boundaries between the physical and the ephemeral in art.
Featured Artists
The exhibition includes works by a diverse group of artists, including Danielle Andress, Sydney Cash, Gregory Climer, William Cobbing, Kelly Egan, Sabrina Gschwandtner, Kira Dominguez-Hultgren, Lauren Kalman, Beryl Korot, Ahree Lee, Jodie Mack, Aaron Marcus, Kate Nartker, Megumi Naitoh, Senga Nengudi, Sarah Rosalena, Richard Vijgen, Jennifer West, and Shaheer Zazai.
For more information about Video Craft, visit sfmcd.org.
