Opening of Blurring Boundaries at the Ewing Gallery, University of Tennessee at Knoxville.
The exhibition is up through December 10
The exhibition is up through December 10
"While American abstraction today is well acknowledged and recorded in critical and academic circles, what remains relatively absent is a conversation regarding the contribution of female artists who took part in its founding and continuing evolution." --Rebecca DiGiovanna, curator, Blurring Boundaries
We begin with the founders, Esphyr Slobodkina, Gertrude Greene, and Alice Trumbull Mason, and several past presidents, including Merrill Wagner, Beatrice Reise, and Charmion von Weigand. As Di Giovanna wrote in her early notes about the exhibition, "Evidence of women’s presence and participation have long played a significant role in the American Abstract Artists. Among the 40 founding members of AAA, eight were women; of the group’s 15 presidents, six have been female. The group’s current gender makeup is a nearly even split — forty-five percent are female — still statistically unheard of in the broader art world."
Esphyr Slobodkina, The Red L Abstraction, c. 1940, gouache on paperboard, 7 11/16 x 9 1/8 inches
You'll see this and the other works here in situ as we proceed to installation views
Gertrude Greene, Related Forms, 1947, oil on canvas, 32 x 24 inches
Courtesy of Berry Campbell Gallery, New York City
Courtesy of Berry Campbell Gallery, New York City
Alice Trumbull Mason, Magnitude of Memory, 1962, oil on canvas, 36 x 26 inches
Courtesy of Joan Washburn Gallery
Merrill Wagner, Untitled, 1976, masking tape on paper, 12.5 x 29 inches
Beatrice Reise, Kufa, 2003, ink on paper, 31 x 22.25 inches
Charmion von Weigand, Luminous Lattice, 1958, collage on paper, 16 x 16 inches
Individual artwork images courtesy of AAA and the artists; installation views courtesy of the Clara M. Eagle Gallery, Murray State University, Kentucky
We begin our tour here, moving counterclockwise around the gallery
Artists are identified from left to right
Susan Bonfils, Esphyr Slobodkina, Marthe Keller, Lisa Nanni Judith Murray
Marthe Keller, Pre-Op, 1994, oil and mixed media on linen
Marthe Keller, Pre-Op, 1994, oil and mixed media on linen
Judith Murray, Tribe, oil on linen, 50 x 54 inches
Kim Uchiyama; Bonfils and Irene Rice Perriera (at oblique angle); Claire Seidl, Joanne Mattera, Judith Murray, Mary Schiliro, Li Trincere; on standing wall: von Wiegand, Slobodkina, Keller; far wall: Gabriele Evertz, Jane Logemann, Rhia Hurt, Susan Smith, Lynne Harlow
Kim Uchiyama, Archeo, 2010, oil on canvas, 20 x 16 inches
Installation view, with standing wall foreground as a navigation marker
Laurie Fendrich, #18 2016, 2016, conté on Arches (top) and #8 2015, 2015, conté on Arches; Irene Rousseau, Stretching the Space, 2015, oil, pen, and ink on canvas
Laurie Fendrich, #18 2016, 2016, conté on Arches (top) and #8 2015, 2015, conté on Arches; Irene Rousseau, Stretching the Space, 2015, oil, pen, and ink on canvas
We peek behind the standing wall to get a sense of the space. Work will be identified as we continue.
On floor: Vera Vasek, August 24, 2007 from Tidal Relief Series, 2007; plaster, acrylic, sand, glass fiber, aluminum, with scene from video, below
On floor: Vera Vasek, August 24, 2007 from Tidal Relief Series, 2007; plaster, acrylic, sand, glass fiber, aluminum, with scene from video, below
Uchiyama, Bonfils, Perriera, Seidl, Mattera
Emily Berger, AAA outgoing vice president, with Susan Bonfils, Opening #1, 2017, mixed media; and . . .
. . . Irene Rice Perriera, Untitled, c. 1955, gouache on paper
. . . Irene Rice Perriera, Untitled, c. 1955, gouache on paper
Raquel Rabinovich; corner: Patricia Zarate; Trumbull Mason, Sharon Brant, Joanne Freeman, Lorenza Sannai, Liz Ainslie; foreground: Vasek
Liz Ainslie, Way You Could Tell, 2017, oil on canvas
Lorenza Sannai, clockwise from above left: Certe Volte, 2017, acrylic on board; Preparatory drawing for Ordine Sparso and Certe Volte, 2017, digital enlargement; Ordine Sparso, 2017, acrylic on board
Joanne Freeman, Sweet Spot, 2012, oil on shaped canvas, 30 x 33 inches
Trumbull Mason, Sharon Brant, Freeman
Sharon Brant, Pink and Red #2, 2017, acrylic on linen, 15 x 30 inches
Mara Held, Clover Vail, Phillis Ideal, Rabinovich, Zarate, Trumbull Mason, Brant, Freeman; foregound, Vasek
Mara Held, Ostinato, 2007, egg tempera on panel, 32 x 48 inches
Clover Vail, #14, 2015, ballpoint on wood panel, 10 x 8 inches
Ideal, Rabinovich, Zarate, Trumbull Mason
Phillis Ideal, Blue Borrowed, 201`6; acrylic, collage, resin, spray paint on canvas; 40 x 30 inches framed
Raquel Rabinovich, River Library 421 with Rivermaps, 2013; Nile River mud, pencil and glue on Essendia paper; 25 x 33 inches framed
Phillis Ideal, Blue Borrowed, 201`6; acrylic, collage, resin, spray paint on canvas; 40 x 30 inches framed
Raquel Rabinovich, River Library 421 with Rivermaps, 2013; Nile River mud, pencil and glue on Essendia paper; 25 x 33 inches framed
Patricia Zarate, Sweet Spot, 2014, acrylic on wood, 48 x 2.5 x .50 inches
Katinka Mann, Held, Vail, Ideal, Rabinovich, Zarate, Brant, Freeman; Vasek, foreground
Ce Roser, Siri Berg, Anne Russinof, Perle Fine
Perle Fine, an early member of AAA, Arriving, 1952, oil on canvas, 50 x 49.5 inches
Courtesy of Berry Campbell Gallery, New York City
Courtesy of Berry Campbell Gallery, New York City
Anne Russinof, Inside Out, 2017, oil on canvas, 20 x 24 inches
Siri Berg, Bars (triptych), 1999, oil on linen, each 12 x 12 inches
Ce Roser, Fanfare, 1986, oil on linen, 23 x 36 inches
Installation view
Lynn Umlauf, Emily Berger, Karen Schifano
Lynn Umlauf, 3.6.14, 2014; pastel, acrylic, canvas, frame; 20.25 x 18 inches
Emily Berger, Breathe In, 2017, oil on wood, 36 x 28 inches
Karen Schifano, It's Curtains for You, Kid, 2017, flashe on canvas, 22 x 28 inches
Installation view with Fine, Nanni, Nola Zirin, Melissa Staiger
Nola Zirin, Hide and Seek, 2017, oil and glitter on wood panel, 24 x 36 inches
Lisa Nanni, Opposing Forest Green and Blaze Orange Waves, 2016; chromate aluminum, art glass, acrylic, 13.50 x 12 x 4 inches
Melissa Staiger, Connection 2 Ways, 2017; assemblage on panel with marble, subway tiles, acrylic paint; 24 x 12 inches
Jeanne Wilkinson, Beatrice Reise, Gertrude Greene, Gabriele Evertz, Jane Logemann, Rhia Hurt, Susan Smith, Lynne Harlow
Jeanne Wilkinson, Beatrice Reise
Below: Still from Wilkinson's Animated Abstraction 4, 2016, video
Below: Still from Wilkinson's Animated Abstraction 4, 2016, video
Greene, Evertz, Logemann, Hurt, Cecily Kahn, Nancy Manter, Smith
Gabriele Evertz, Toward Light, 2018, acrylic on canvas, 42 x 42 inches
Jane Logemann, Plum-Korean, 2008-9; ink, oil, varnish, on muslin; 36 x 26.50 inches
Rhia Hurt, Pretty in Peach, Reflecting Pool Series, 2018, acrylic and watercolor on paper, 15 x 12 inches
Cecily Kahn, Laughter and Forgetting, 2017, oil on canvas, 24 20 inches
Nancy Manter, Remembering to Turn . . ., 2017, flashe and charcoal collage on Yupo, 40 x 26 inches
Nancy Manter, Remembering to Turn . . ., 2017, flashe and charcoal collage on Yupo, 40 x 26 inches
Susan Smith, SCT 200 Irregular Grid, 2012; collage with found french fry container, watercolor, pencil, framed 14 x 14 inches; and 2 1/2 lb. Irregular Grid, 2012, collage with found french fry container, watercolor, pencil, framed 14 x 14 inches
Lynne Harlow, Sweetheart of the Rodeo, 2018; vinyl curtain and acrylic paint; 6 x 8 x 18 feet
Iona Kleinhut, Mare Nostrum: Casalabate, 2017, oil on linen, 30 x 32 inches
Mary Schiliro, Li Trincere, Charmion von Weigand, Slobodkina, Keller, Evertz, Logemann, Hurt, Smith, Harlow
Murray in far wall; Schiliro, Li Trincere
On pedestal: Alice Adams, White Corner Cast, 1969, silastic resin, 10 x 4 inches coiled
On pedestal: Alice Adams, White Corner Cast, 1969, silastic resin, 10 x 4 inches coiled
Mary Schiliro, Drip-dry, 1995; acrylic paint, mylar, clothespins; 60 x 36 inches
Li Trincere, Green 1, 2017, acrylic on canvas, 24 x 34 x 1.50 inches
Seidl, Mattera, Murray
Claire Seidl, Neither Here Nor There, 2016, oil on linen, 30 x 39 inches
Joanne Mattera, Swipe 11, 2016, oil and wax on 300-lb. Fabriano Hot Press, 34 x 26 inches framed
Gail Gregg, Scored, 2012, encaustic on cardboard, 15 x 12 inches
. Website
. Facebook page
. Curator's essay
. Images from the second venue, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
. Review by D. Dominick Lombardi in Artes Magazine
About the curator
Rebecca DiGiovanna is an independent curator from Memphis,
Tennessee. She holds a BFA in Museum Studies from the University of Tennessee,
Knoxville. Her art historical interests center on artistic identity and themes
of migration and diaspora, constructions of gender and “otherness,” and modes
of collecting and preservation. While pursuing her undergraduate degree,
DiGiovanna worked in the Ewing and Downtown Galleries at UT, Knoxville, where
she helped to curate and install exhibitions featuring both regional and
international artists. Exhibition highlights include Dutch colorist Fransje
Killaars, Color at the Center; architect
Richard Meier, Collage Works; and
printmaker Ruth Weisberg, Time and Again.
She authored essays for Larry Brown—Science
and Nature (2016) and Encore(2016).
She also co-edited the exhibition catalog for Pinkney Herbert,Distilled: The Narrative Transformed
(2015). Her essay, Neither Here nor
There: Borrowed Bodies, Third Space, and the Museum, was published in Pursuit: The Journal of Undergraduate
Research, 2015. DiGiovanna currently lives and works in New York City,
where she is pursuing an MA in Art History at Hunter College.