Pauline Boty
Vija Celmins
Dorothy Grebenak
Kay Kurt
Yayoi Kusama
Lee Lozano
Mara McAfee
Barbro Ostlihn
Faith Ringgold
Martha Rosler
Marjorie Strider
Alina Szapocznikow
May Wilson
Marisol
Niki de Saint Phalle
Rosalyn Drexler
Chryssa
Idelle Weber
Glenn Holsten
Women Pop Artists 1958 - 1968
"Seductive Subversion: Women Pop Artists 1958 – 1968," the first group exhibition of female Pop artists, will be presented at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia January 22 – March 15, 2010. The exhibition takes aim at more accurately reflecting the depth of women's contributions to the Pop Art movement of the 1950s and '60s. While male Pop artists Warhol, Lichtenstein, Rauschenberg and Johns are widely recognized, their female contemporaries remain virtually unknown.
"Seductive Subversion" features Marisol's "John Wayne" sculpture, commissioned by Life magazine for an issue on movies; "Black Rosy," an eight-foot-tall "Nana" sculpture exploring the role of women, by French sculptor, painter and filmmaker Niki de Saint Phalle; Rosalyn Drexler's oil and acrylic works "Chubby Checker," the basis of which was the poster for the movie "Twist around the Clock," and "Home Movies," which is broken in to frames from old gangster movies; the Times Square-inspired "Ampersand," a multi-layered, stylized and illuminated neon ampersand in a Plexiglas cube by Chryssa, one of the first artists to utilize neon in her work; and 17-foot-long triptych by Idelle Weber. Many of these pieces have not been shown in 40 years.
Paintings and sculptures by Pauline Boty, Vija Celmins, Dorothy Grebenak, Kay Kurt, Yayoi Kusama, Lee Lozano, Mara McAfee, Barbro Ostlihn, Faith Ringgold, Martha Rosler, Marjorie Strider, Alina Szapocznikow and May Wilson are also featured in the show. The University has secured loans of artwork from the National Gallery, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (Washington, D.C.), Neuberger Museum (Purchase, N.Y.) and major private collectors.
Six years in the making, "Seductive Subversion: Women Pop Artists 1958 – 1968," was organized by the Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery at the University of the Arts. This project has been supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage through the Philadelphia Exhibitions Initiative with additional support from the Marketing Innovation Program. A documentary film by Glenn Holsten is being funded by The Pew Center for Arts and Heritage through the Philadelphia Exhibitions Initiative, with additional support from the Marketing Innovation Program. Additional funding for the film is generously provided by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and the Quaker Chemical Foundation.
The Women and Pop Art Symposium is organized in conjunction with the "Seductive Subversion: Women Pop Artists 1958-1968" exhibition.
Friday, February 5 – Saturday, February 6, 2010
Terra Hall, Connelly Auditorium (8th floor)
211 South Broad Street Philadelphia, PA 19102
Image: Marisol, John Wayne, 1963, mixed media, 104 x 96 x 15 inches. Colorado Springs Fine Art Center, Art © Marisol Escobar/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY
For news media inquiries:
Kevin Kaufman, Assistant Director/Media Relations 215-717-6504 - Office kkaufman@uarts.edu
The show's main staging will be at the Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery (333 S. Broad St., Philadelphia), with the Hamilton Hall Galleries (320 S. Broad St., Philadelphia) and Borowsky Gallery (401 S. Broad St., Philadelphia) hosting the balance of the art work.
The Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Saturday noon – 5 p.m.
The exhibition is free and open to the public.