Heart of Gold, Female #2

Jon Eric Riis, Heart of Gold, Female #2, 2002, tapestry woven silk and metallic thread with custom mount, overall: 29 in. × 66 58 in. × 2 12 in. (73.7 × 169.2 × 6.4 cm) mount (hanging rod): 71 38 × 2 14 in. (181.3 × 5.7 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Jerome A. and Deena L. Kaplan Collection, 2021.49.1

Artwork Details

Title
Heart of Gold, Female #2
Date
2002
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
overall: 29 in. × 66 58 in. × 2 12 in. (73.7 × 169.2 × 6.4 cm) mount (hanging rod): 71 38 × 2 14 in. (181.3 × 5.7 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of the Jerome A. and Deena L. Kaplan Collection
Mediums
Mediums Description
tapestry woven silk and metallic thread with custom mount
Classifications
Subjects
  • Emblem — heart
Object Number
2021.49.1

Artwork Description

What do we express to the world with our clothing—our second skin? And what do we conceal?


Clothes offer a protective barrier, and they also tell others more about our unique selves. Tapestry artist John Eric Riis depicts the exterior of a woman’s chest on a shimmering silk coat to imply her heart of gold. And yet, the interior reveals just the vulnerable viscera, bones, and muscles of a human body.


This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World, 2022

Works by this artist (2 items)

Ron Ho, Necklace Made for Patti Warashina, n.d., silver, leather, and Plexiglas with two wood carvings by Julia Harrison and a carved wooden Japanese mask, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Patti Warashina, 2021.86.1
Necklace Made for Patti Warashina
Artist
Daten.d.
silver, leather, and Plexiglas with two wood carvings by Julia Harrison and a carved wooden Japanese mask
Not on view
Foil Toil (necklace)
Artist
Date1998
plexiglass, silver, copper, and leather
Not on view