Edge of the Spotlight: Women of Abstract Expressionism
Women artists who contributed mightily to art movements throughout history, but been relegated to the shadows, have always interested me and often been the focus of personal research.
Exhibition Catalog with Bullfight by Elaine de Kooning on the cover.
This month Denver Art Museum launched the first major presentation celebrating female artists who were powerful participants in the Abstract Expressionism movement during the 1940s and 1950s. They have, in my opinion, hit it out of the park with this exhibition, which opened June 12th and will run through September 25, 2016 before moving on to the Mint Museum in October 2016 and the Palm Springs Art Museum in February 2017. Many of the paintings displayed are major works by the artists and the long list of supporters and lenders include many prestigious collectors and institutions.
Curated superbly by Gwen Chanzit, the museum brings together 51 paintings by 12 artists showing their distinctive and foundational contributions to a movement that routinely has been attributed to mostly male artists of the 1940s and 1950s. This exhibition will go a long way toward dispelling that mistaken notion. The work by these innovative artists not only matches but often exceeds some of the so-called “big names” of what is considered to be the first fully American modern art development.
Drawn from the official press release, here is a description of what you can expect to discover as you move through the galleries devoted to Mary Abbott, Jay DeFeo, Perle Fine, Helen Frankenthaler, Sonia Gechtoff, Judith Godwin, Grace Hartigan, Elaine de Kooning, Lee Krasner, Joan Mitchell, Deborah Remington, and Ethel Schwabacher:
The DAM’s exhibition focuses on the expressive freedom of direct gesture and process at the core of abstract expressionism, while revealing inward reverie and painterly expression in these works [as they respond} to particular places, memories, and life experiences. [In addition to those working in New York City], Women of Abstract Expressionism also sheds light on the unique experiences of artists based in the Bay area on the West Coast where they were on a more equal footing with their male counterparts than those working in New York.
Over the next few weeks, I will be highlighting the life and times of these women and introducing you to samples of their work. Each was a dedicated artist devoted to her craft and often sacrificed greatly to push onward at a time when most would be left on the sidelines as the full glare of recognition shone on their male counterparts. I am not saying the men weren’t also important, but I am saying that a true historical accounting is more diverse, more textured and nuanced than earlier interpretations suggest. Each post will contain numerous links to additional materials (sort of an abbreviated art course) that will be of interest to those fascinated as I am with one of the most interesting American art movements.
I hope you’ll join me as we turn on the house lights and broaden the view!
-- Rosemary Carstens
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Note: Accompanying the exhibition is a stunning catalog, Women of Abstract Expressionism, filled with insightful essays and images.
