Philadelphia, PA | Curator-Led Tour of “Donna Dodson: Match of the Matriarchs” with Jennifer-Navva Milliken

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.

Donna Dodson is an American sculptor internationally recognized for her monumental figurative works carved from wood. Working primarily with salvaged and reclaimed timber, she transforms the material’s grain, scale, and physical presence into expressive female archetypes, mythic beings, and hybrid forms that challenge traditional hierarchies of power. A 2022 Fulbright U.S. Scholar at Q21/MuseumsQuartier Vienna, Dodson has completed residencies in Switzerland, Peru, Taiwan, and Denmark. She is currently a Scholar at the Brandeis University Women’s Studies Research Center and a Visual Art Fellow at the St. Botolph Club in Boston.

Jennifer-Navva Milliken is the Executive Director and Chief Curator of the Museum for Art in Wood. In her role, Milliken provides strategic leadership across all areas of the institution’s mission. She is responsible for guiding the Museum’s growth, advancing its relevance within the global arts and culture landscape, and overseeing operations, development, community partnerships, and board engagement. Under her leadership, the Museum has expanded its reach and impact through groundbreaking exhibitions, public programs, and publications that champion contemporary wood art and material culture.