John McQueen

Conceptual fiber artist and ACC Gold Medalist John McQueen died on July 26, 2025. He redefined the field of contemporary basketry to embrace non-functional sculpture, exploring concepts of containment and space through his decidedly conceptual work. McQueen rarely employed conventional basket forms or patterned weaving techniques. “What I wanted to make was invisible, transparent architecture . . . I want to open up the interior space. I want it to be visible, exposed, the kind of containment that isn’t really contained,” he told American Craft magazine in 1999. “This all comes out of the basket tradition . . . That’s what you do with a basket. You look inside it.” McQueen received numerous solo exhibitions, installation projects, and resident artist appointments at various craft schools and universities. His work can be found in major collections, including the Museum of Arts and Design; the Detroit Institute of Art; the Philadelphia Museum of Art; the Minneapolis Institute of Art; and the Renwick Gallery of the National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. He was inducted into the ACC College of Fellows in 1994 and was honored as an ACC Gold Medalist in 2022. He was a true master and visionary of his craft. (https://www.facebook.com/CraftCouncil/posts/conceptual-fiber-artist-and-acc-gold-medalist-john-mcqueen-died-on-july-26-2025-/1144741764367815/)