RSS
Home
Feminist Art 101: where to see it in NYC
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
The Brooklyn Museum. Photo by Eric Pitra.
NYC is bursting with world-renowned art museums and galleries and tucked into many of these are artworks by feminists or works that explore feminist issues. However tracking down these works can be tricky for those not embedded into the NYC art scene. For the feminist visitor or resident, here are some tips to get you started on your search for radical works made by feminist artists.
Sackler Center at the Brooklyn Museum
NYC’s feminist art claim to fame is the recently opened (Marcy 07) Sackler Center at the Brooklyn Museum, which is dedicated to the past, present, and future of feminist art. Their mission is “to raise awareness of feminism's cultural contributions; to educate new generations about the meaning of feminist art; to maintain a dynamic and welcoming learning facility; and to present feminism in an approachable and relevant way.” Their most noteworthy long-term exhibition is Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party – a brilliant sculptural piece honoring 1,038 historical women. Reflections on the Electric Mirror: New Feminist Video is up until January 10, 2010 and up until January 24 is Patricia Cronin’s “Harriet Hosmer: Lost and Found” The Sackler Center is on the fourth floor of the Brooklyn Museum, and is open on Saturdays and Sundays 11-6 and Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 10-5. The first Saturday of each month, the museum is open late for guided tours, talks, and a dance party. The museum is located at 200 Eastern Parkway.
SOHO20 Chelsea Gallery
Founded in 1973, this nonprofit gallery is “devoted to increasing public awareness of the excellence and diversity of women's art.” Their current exhibit, Boxing Gloves and Bustiers, explores “the many faces of heroic female figuration through the lens of contemporary video” and is up until August 15. The gallery is located at 511 W. 25th Street (Suite 605) and is open Tuesday through Saturday, 12-6.
Coming up on Friday September 25th from 6-8PM at SOHO20 is "REPRESENT: Feminism(s) and Art" Intergenerational Roundtable hosted by The New York Feminist Art Institute. The discussion will focus on artists’ creative process “from allocating studio time, overcoming obstacles and distractions, to giving yourself freedom and space for artmaking.” Email nancy@nancyazara.com for more info on the series.
The Pen and Brush, Inc.
The Pen and Brush was established in 1894 and since then has been dedicated to women in literary, performing, and visual arts. Their 2009 Fall Brush exhibition opens on September 24; the call for entries for this exhibit closes on August 5. When exhibitions are up, the gallery is open on Thursdays and Fridays from 4-7 and Saturdays and Sundays from 1-5. It’s located in Manhattan at 16 E. 10th Street.
Some shows of note
Though not explicitly a feminist show, Jonathan Horowitz’s “And/Or” exhibition at P.S.1 in Long Island City certainly explores an array of radical social issues, and is visually stunning. I am especially intrigued by his work featuring Helen Keller as subject. Check it out before September 14 when the show closes. P.S.1 is located in Long Island City, Queens at 22-25 Jackson Ave at the intersection of 46th Ave. The museum is open Thursday through Monday, 12-6.
Upcoming at the Whitney Museum of American Art are exhibitions of the works of Georgia O’Keefe (opening on September 17) and Roni Horn (opening on November 6). Horn’s diverse works are “an exploration of identity and the issue of doubling as it relates to love, sex, and gender.” The Whitney is at 945 Madison Avenue, and is open Wednesday-Thursday 11-6, Friday 1-9, and Saturady-Sunday 11-6. Fridays from 6-9 PM you can pay what you wish to enter.
Up until July 31, 2009 is “A Parallel Presence: National Association of Women Artists, 1889-2009” at The UBS Art Gallery on the ground floor at 1285 Avenue of the Americas (between 51st and 52nd Streets). This exhibit, featuring the works of 55 artists, is a celebration of the 120th anniversary of N.A.W.A., the oldest active American women’s art organization. The gallery is open Monday through Friday, 8-6.
From September 10 to October 24, the Flomenhaft Gallery will be featuring works by Linda Stein and Jaune Quick-to-See Smith. Speaking of Quick-to-See Smith’s work, art critic Gerrit Henry wrote: "For all the primal nature of her origins, Smith adeptly takes on contemporary American society in her paintings, drawings and prints, looking at things Native and national through bifocals of the old and the new, the sacred and the profane, the divine and the witty." Linda Stein’s sculptural work explores the concepts of protection and justice. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:30-5 and is located at 547 W. 27h Street, Suite 308. The opening reception will be held on September 10th from 6-8.
A few more tips
If visiting MoMA, you can narrow down your “to see” list by searching for these feminist artworks in the museum’s collection.
This past winter, Momenta Art in Williamsburg, Brooklyn showed The Mood Back Home: An Exhibition Inspired by Womanhouse. While it is too late to see that provocative show, it’s not too late to check out the other amazing shows at this non-profit gallery, that promotes emerging and underrepresented artists of all ages, races, and ethnicities.
I also recommend checking out the NY Studio Gallery if you are down in the Lower East Side.
If you have another recommendation of a feminist art show or space, please share it by commenting below!
Related Articles:
Comments
