Museum for Art in Wood

Opening for Donna Dodson: Match of the Martriarchs

Fri, Nov 6, 5:00 PM

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_heading title=”Frist Friday Opening for Donna Dodson: Match of the Martriarchs | Nov. 6, 2026 | 5 – 8 pm ” admin_label=”Heading” _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][/et_pb_heading][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”] Walk-ups Welcome Join us for the opening of Match of the Matriarchs . Match of the Matriarchs centers on a monumental, interactive chessboard featuring 32 life-size, movable chess pieces hand-carved from salvaged wood. Modeled on female archetypes and marine beings—cephalopods, cetaceans, and mermaids—Dodson’s sculptures transform the traditionally hierarchical game into a speculative arena of matriarchal power and ecological symbolism. Long coded as a test of masculine intellect and mastery, chess in this match becomes a site of reversal: the queen’s latent authority resurfaces, and new strategies come into view. Working with reclaimed wood—its ranging tones and scars visible to all—Dodson aligns chess with material memory, presenting the game as a dynamic system of multi-generational wisdom, stratagem, and transformation over domination. Complementing Dodson’s installation are wood chess sets made by other artists alongside video works by Philadelphia-based chess champion and his