“BIG FAT HAIRY DEAL”: The Hunterdon Art Museum’s basketry exhibition features creations made with unconventional materials like the hardware cloth, hair curlers, and cable ties that Emily Dvorin used in her basket, pictured here.

The works created by the 22 artists highlighted in the Hunterdon Art Museum’s (HAM) exhibition, “Interconnections: The Language of Basketry,” include everything from stapled paper to fabricated metal. Some employ found objects; others utilize clay, linen, or wire. Works range from a large interactive floor sculpture to a small intricate construction of metal and paper, but all are united by an inventive approach to an ancient craft.

“Interconnections” opens at HAM on Sunday, May 15 with a reception from 2 to 4 p.m. The event is open to all, and wine and cheese will be served. The exhibition runs until September 4, 2016.

“These artists employ basketry processes and concepts in dynamic and imaginative ways, challenging the common view of basketry as a utilitarian folk craft,” said Carol Eckert, curator of “Interconnections: The Language of Basketry.” “Experimenting with techniques and materials — sometimes referencing ancient methods — they create works ranging from large-scale, site-specific works to wall pieces, sculptural constructions, and vessel-based forms.”

This exhibition looks to the present and future by emphasizing work created within the past few years, some of it specifically for this venue. It includes an installation by Pat Hickman, who has been prominent in the contemporary basketry movement; along with unique sculptural works by artist/designer Doug Johnston, whose line of coiled cotton rope vessels is available online and at shops worldwide.

Nathalie Miebach is represented by a complex sculpture, which merges scientific and visual inquiry, and incorporates weather data from Hurricane Sandy as it approached the New Jersey shore.

John McQueen, one of the most influential artists associated with the basketry field, has expanded his repertoire to embrace sculptural forms of all kinds, including books, columns, and wall pieces. All the works reference the basketry process, and while most use materials traditionally associated with baskets such as twigs, bark and vines, others — recycled plastics, zip ties and string — might surprise viewers. His work has been described as hovering “in the gap between craft, sculpture, and conceptual art.”

Working at the intersection of art and interior architecture, Sui Park uses plastic zip ties in her sculptures, creating installations of flexible, organic forms, which spread across the floor or are suspended in space.

Museum visitors are encouraged to participate in the interactive Penelope Project, which can be found in the River Gallery. The Penelope Project, created by Phyllis Kudder Sullivan, encourages everyone to carve their names and nationalities into the leather-hard clay arches that comprise the threads of the piece.

“I brought the idea of interlacing to the forefront by focusing on the concept of weaving as a means of interconnectedness,” Sullivan noted. “It underscores a connected approach to life in which different threads are integrated into one tapestry.”

Other artists featured in the show are: Dona Anderson, Jerry Bleem, Charissa Brock, Ann B. Coddington, Emily Dvorin, Lindsay Ketterer Gates, Donna Hapac, Mieko Kawase, Jay Kelly, Heechan Kim, Nancy Koenigsberg, Tracy Krumm, Gyongy Laky, Jo Stealey, Gina Telcocci, and Ann Weber.

The museum is at 7 Lower Center Street in Clinton. For more information, visit www.hunterdonartmuseum.org or call (908) 735-8415. Hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. and suggested admission is $5.

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