The Museum for Art in Wood is putting a new perspective on the game of chess with an exhibition that celebrates feminine power, mythology and family history.
'Donna Dodson: Match of the Matriarchs' invites visitors to explore an oversized, 24-foot chessboard featuring 32 hand-carved wooden pieces inspired by feminine archetypes, mythological figures, aquatic creatures and influential matriarchs in the sculptor’s family.
Dodson, an internationally recognized sculptor known for creating monumental figurative woodcarvings that challenge traditional hierarchies of power, was inspired to create this one-of-a-kind chess set by modeling pieces after marine life and New England’s history of carved wooden figureheads on whaling vessels.
These figurehead carvings often depict goddesses, mermaids, or captains’ wives, prompting Dodson to consider how to transform mermaids from objects of the male gaze into a woman-sea creature hybrid and evoke the power of marine mammals. Dodson drew on history, mythology, and personal connections to create figures that challenge expectations of women’s roles and explore binary power dynamics.
“I want my audience to consider a world filled with powerful women,” said Dodson. “An all-female chess set seems like an apt metaphor for this worldview.”
'Match of the Matriarchs' was previously seen at the World Chess Hall of Fame in St. Louis and the Boston Sculptors Gallery, and now evolves in Philadelphia with new sculptures, programming, and performances. Dodson added 16 hand-carved pawns and two new Grim Reaper knights for the black side of the chessboard. She also fabricated a floor-mounted chess set that is 10 times the size of the standard Staunton tournament set, devoted to Caïssa, the goddess of chess.
Both sets will lend themselves to Philadelphia chess players who will be dropping in and playing chess variants like Double Queen chess and Caïssa Britannia (British Chess).
New for the exhibition at the Museum for Art in Wood, 'Goddess of Virtue Signaling' imagines an extinct Irish elk wearing a blaze orange set of antlers. For her sculpture 'The Minotaur or Beatrice Cenci for Harriet Hosmer,' Dodson reimagines noblewoman Beatrice Cenci as a powerful female minotaur holding a severed head. Other sculptures bring themes of strength, transformation, and intergenerational connection into focus. The figures recast chess as a setting for matriarchal power, ecological symbolism, and wisdom passed between generations.
Along with Dodson’s work, the exhibition features chess sets by other artists and works by Philadelphia-based two-time United States Women’s Chess Champion, FIDE Woman Grandmaster, author, and historian Jennifer Shahade, in a collaboration with her filmmaker husband Daniel Meirom.
On Nov. 13, from 6 to 8 p.m., Jennifer Shahade will be at the exhibition for a game night and book signing, featuring her book 'Thinking Sideways.'
The Museum for Art in Wood is located at 141 N. 3rd Street. 'Match of the Matriarchs' will be on display through March 14, 2027. For information and tickets, visit museumforartinwood.org
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