‘CRADLED’ Exhibition Curated by Frances McDormand and Suzanne Bocanegra Coming to Make Hauser & Wirth in Downtown L.A.

This exhibit was created in collaboration with the Shaker Museum in Chatham, New York.

Opening November 20, Make Hauser & Wirth Downtown Los Angeles will present ‘CRADLED,’ an exhibition conceived and curated by artist Suzanne Bocanegra and actor/producer Frances McDormand in collaboration with the Shaker Museum (Chatham, N.Y.).

‘CRADLED’ invites visitors into an environment where they are immersed, however briefly, in a vision of life shaped by the Shaker ethos of devotion made manifest in communal industry and care.

‘CRADLED’ will be on view Saturdays and Sundays through January 4, 2026. Central to the exhibition are Shaker cradles, crafted for infants and adults alike, designed to provide comfort at life’s beginning, and at its end.

Rarely seen beyond traditional Shaker circles, adult-sized cradles, striking in their simplicity, embody the group’s values of compassion, dignity, and support at every stage of life.

Inspired by the research done by Suzanne and Frances at the Shaker Museum, the exhibition features four of these historic Shaker cradles, on loan from Shaker museums spanning the country, from New England to Kentucky. Each cradle is paired with a tableau of Shaker rocking chairs and woven baskets filled with mending projects, offering visitors an opportunity to take part in the literal and figurative act of mending, an activity at the heart of Shaker values: to sit, to repair, to create.

Honoring the Shakers’ connection between song and caregiving, Suzanne and Frances collaborated with composer David Lang and sound editors Skip Lievsay and Paul Umstrom on an end-of-life lullaby that resonates throughout the exhibition.

‘CRADLED’ includes a reproduction of an adult-sized cradle in which special guests will be gently rocked by Suzanne and Frances during the opening activation on November 20. That evening, singers from the Los Angeles-based volunteer choir Angeles Chorale will contribute to the lullaby and the exhibition’s soundscape.

In collaboration with Manuela LA, Shaker Lemon Pie will be served to visitors at the opening. Pies will also be available for purchase and featured on the restaurant’s menu during the run of the exhibition.

Artists’ statement from Frances McDormand and Suzanne Bocanegra:

‘To be cradled, held, supported by one’s community.

From birth to grave.

WITH RESPECT AND CARE.

To be mended by an exchange of trust, loyalty and compassion.

To be honored for one’s contribution to the whole and to believe one is contributing to the sustenance of the future.

The contemplation of these thoughts and possibilities is what we hope to offer you in this space.

TAKE YOUR TIME.

ROCK YOURSELF.

MEND, IF YOU LIKE.

YOU ARE WELCOME.’

For more information, go to www.hauserwirth.com/

make/cradled.

Hauser & Wirth Downtown Los Angeles is at 901 East 3rd Street.

Phone: 213-943-1620.