Mira Lehr: Tracing the Red Thread

Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami
Curated by Eleanor Heartney

 

For Tracing the Red Thread, I designed the exhibition identity and interpretive materials to reflect the life and work of artist Mira Lehr—a pioneer of the eco-feminist art movement and a lifelong advocate for the preservation of South Florida’s natural ecosystems. The visual system honors both the artist’s personal grace and the powerful themes embedded in her work.

 

The exhibition draws from the myth of Ariadne and the red thread that guides Theseus through the labyrinth. I extended this metaphor through design—selecting a rich, evocative red that matched Lehr’s artwork and wove through the title wall, catalog, and interactive wall texts. The typography leaned into classical forms: elegant serif fonts anchored the visuals in timelessness, while spacious layout and visual restraint allowed the work to breathe.

 

Much of the wall text was designed to interact physically with the artwork—positioned among installations in ways that invited movement, proximity, and reflection. The result was an exhibition that encouraged wandering, echoing the labyrinthine layout of Lehr’s mangrove and coral reef–inspired forms.

 

The accompanying catalog included the curator's myth-infused essay by Eleanor Heartney, which I treated with care—preserving the lyricism of her language through minimal, literary-inspired design. The project sits at the intersection of aesthetic refinement and environmental urgency, celebrating the interconnectedness of nature, feminism, and artistic legacy.