Maureen McCabe Retrospective Examines Mysticism, Fate, and Free Will at the Benton Museum of Art
Maureen McCabe in her studio. Courtesy of the artist.
Cranbrook Academy of Art alumna Maureen McCabe (MFA Design 1971) is the subject of a major retrospective, Fate and Magic: The Art of Maureen McCabe, on view through December 14, 2025, at the William Benton Museum of Art at the University of Connecticut. Recently featured in Hyperallergic, the exhibition surveys decades of McCabe’s mixed-media installations and assemblages exploring mysticism, spirituality, and the human search for meaning.
McCabe’s interest in the occult deepened in 1978 during a sabbatical in Paris, where she encountered Jean-Paul Sartre’s Les jeux sont faits (The Chips are Down), sparking a body of work centered on fate and free will. Her early assemblages—often built on vintage slate chalkboards with drawings and found objects—reflect the influence of artists such as Joseph Cornell, Louise Nevelson, Remedios Varo, and Leonora Carrington.
As her practice evolved, McCabe amassed an extensive collection of symbolic materials, including vintage games, charms, crystals, tarot cards, and other objects that now fill her Connecticut studio and inform her work. Curator Amanda Douberly notes that McCabe’s approach to mysticism is rooted in care and protection, emphasizing intentional and respectful use of powerful symbols.
Highlights of the exhibition include works inspired by Ireland’s pre-Christian past, the mixed-media assemblage VOUDOU (1993), and a participatory Irish Wishing Tree that invites visitors to tie ribbons and make wishes. McCabe has also participated in public programs at the museum, engaging audiences through tarot workshops and conversations with students and scholars.
Fate and Magic offers a rare opportunity to experience the depth and continuity of McCabe’s artistic practice, celebrating a career shaped by curiosity, symbolism, and sustained exploration.
Learn more:
In Maureen McCabe’s Art, the Medium is the Message – Hyperallergic
