Mary Giles received her BS in Art Education from Mankato State University in Minnesota. After receiving her degree she began exploring various textile processes. She honed her fiber techniques through workshops with such fiber artists as Fern Jacobs, Lissa Hunter, Diane Itter, Jane Sauer and John McQueen. Giles beautiful contemporary sculptural forms are constructed using the traditional basketry technique of coiling often combining waxed linen with metal embellishments of copper or iron. Her sources are diverse but central to her work is its reference to nature from her exploration of the property of various materials to the textures, light and shadow and forms of the natural environment. The human figure is used both as a formal reference and as an element of commentary.

MUSEUM COLLECTIONS 
              Minneapolis Institute of the Arts, Minneapolis, MN
              Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR
              Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI
              Contemporary Art Museum, Honolulu, HI
              Erie Art Museum, Erie, PA
              Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI
              Fine Arts Museum, San Francisco, CA
              Museum of Arts & Design, New York, NY
              St. Louis Art Museum, MO

MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS 
     2010 Duane Reed Gallery, St Louis, MO
     2009 Masters of Contemporary Basketry,
              Fountainhead Gallery, Seattle, WA
              SOFA Santa Fe, Duane Reed Gallery
              SOFA Chicago, Duane Reed Gallery
     2008 SOFA Chicago, Duane Reed Gallery
     2007 SOFA Chicago, Duane Reed Gallery
              Solo Exhibit, Duane Reed Gallery
     2006 Fuller Art Museum, Brockton MA
     2005 Arizona University Museum, Tempe AZ
              Long Beach Museum of Art, CA
     2004 Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, Massachusetts
     2003 Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock
     2002 Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Massachusetts
     2001 10th International Triennial of Tapestry, Lodz,
              PolandMuseum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX
              Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI
     2001 “An Extravagance of Salt and Pepper:
               Containers Shakers/Concepts”, Baltimore Clay Works, Baltimore, MD
     2000 Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock
     1999 Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA
              Craft Council, London, England
     1998 Barbican Center, London, England
     1995 St. Louis Art Museum
              Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock
     1994 Dennos Museum Center, Travers City, MI
     1993 Waterloo Museum of Art, IA
              Boca Raton Museum of Art, FL
     1989 American Craft Museum, NY
     1987 Erie Art Museum, PA
     1985 Minneapolis Institute of Art, MN