Making Their Mark: Works from the Shah Garg Collection

February 27–July 26, 2026
National Museum of Women in the Arts
Washington, D.C.

Making Their Mark: Works from the Shah Garg Collection illustrates women artists’ vital role in abstraction, showcasing work by some of the most important artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. Drawn entirely from the contemporary art collection of Komal Shah and Gaurav Garg, the exhibition considers historical contributions, formal and material breakthroughs, and intergenerational relationships among women artists over the last eight decades.

Making Their Mark brings together more than 70 works made between 1946 and the present by approximately 50 artists. The exhibition illuminates the myriad ways that women explore, expand, and interrogate the boundaries of abstract art to foster vital discussions about representation, identity, and power. Sculptures, paintings, textiles, ceramics, prints, and mixed media works present a rich and interwoven picture of contemporary art history, highlighting the stories and voices of underrepresented artists.

Making Their Mark introduces viewers to well- and lesser-known artists who have made an impact on abstract art. Juxtaposing contemporary works with their pathbreaking historical antecedents, the exhibition emphasizes dialogues between artists who circumvent and break artistic conventions, embracing craft techniques and alternative materials. By bridging personal and political narratives as well as generational and geographic divides, Making Their Mark offers an intersectional approach to abstraction.