The Feminine in Abstract Painting
March 16 2023 - July 15 2023
Opening Reception March 16, 5 - 7 PM
Curated by Jennifer Samet and Andrea Belag
The Milton Resnick and Pat Passlof Foundation is pleased to present The Feminine in Abstract Painting, Curated by Jennifer Samet and Andrea Belag on view from March 16 through July 15 2023.
This group exhibition includes paintings by Etel Adnan, Candida Alvarez, Lisa Beck, Andrea Belag, Lecia Dole-Recio, Pam Glick, Joanne Greenbaum, Clare Grill, Mary Heilmann, Shirley Kaneda, Al Loving, Jiha Moon, Rebecca Morris, Jamie Nares, Pat Passlof, Sandra Payne, Erika Ranee, Miriam Schapiro, Peter Shear, Alan Shields, Amy Sillman, and Lesley Vance.
A catalog featuring Soft Power, 2023, an essay by Jennifer Samet and Painting and its Others: In the Realm of the Feminine by Shirley Kaneda, originally published in 1991 (Arts Magazine), will accompany the exhibition.
The Feminine in Abstract Painting explores the feminine through aesthetics, not identity or gender. These artistic choices, for example, being the utilization of an open-ended process and vulnerability. One must recognize the trauma of having works by women described as “feminine” disparagingly, as something an artist must overcome. However, through today's lens perhaps we can analyze and develop a richer understanding of the feminine, one that is not defined by success, or lack thereof. The show considers the historical basis of one's associations with the feminine and draws attention to how we determine what to categorize as such.
The painter Lecia Dole-Recio considers her abstraction political: “I think about non-hierarchical environments. That informs how I make work. If one thing is coming forward too much, you have to balance it by making another area a little louder... The ideal is not being required to define oneself as one thing or another, in terms of gender or sexual orientation. That is what I mean by ambiguity: something that is not necessarily explained to you right away.”
Jennifer Samet concludes, “I am compelled by painting that seduces, rather than declares, and this is a kind of ‘soft power’ I associate with the feminine. The space of desire between longing and having—which painting, particularly abstraction, ultimately represents—is its power.”
Imagined for the Milton Resnick and Pat Passlof Foundation with care to contemporary gender discourse, The Feminine in Abstract Painting synthesizes six years of thought between Samet and Belag. Samet describes the feminine as a slippery concept, but a rewarding one, and worth the risk.
Etel Adnan Sans Titre, 2014. Oil on canvas. 11 1/2 x 9 5/8 inches. Collection of David Blum
Candida Alvarez Magnify, 2020-2021. Acrylic, polymer paint, glitter, and UV-cured ink on canvas. 80 x 60 inches. Courtesy the artist and Gavlak Gallery, Los Angeles | Palm Beach
Andrea Belag For Justin Wallace, 2021. Oil and mixed media on linen. 48 x 60 inches. Courtesy the artist and Bienvenu Steinberg & J
Lecia Dole-Recio Untitled, 2023. Gouache, acrylic, oak gall ink, graphite, glue, paper, canvas, and wood. 25 3/4 x 19 3/4 x 1 inches. Courtesy the artist and Commonwealth and Council, Los Angeles; Mexico City
Pam Glick Untitled, 2021. Oil on canvas. 60 x 60 inches. Courtesy the artist
Clare Grill Fray, 2022. Oil on linen. 46 x 42 inches. Courtesy the artist and Derek Eller Gallery, New York
Joanne Greenbaum Untitled, 2022. Kiln formed glass. 25 5/8 x 20 1/2 x 1/4 inches. Courtesy the artist and Mitchell-Innes & Nash, New York
Lisa Beck Coming Together, 2023. Oil paint and mylar on two panels. Diptych, 16 x 12 inches (each). Photo: Charles Benton Courtesy Nathalie Karg Gallery, New York
Mary Heilmann Broken Wave, 2022. Acrylic and paper mache pulp on wood and panel. 10 x 26 3/4 x 3 1/2 inches. Courtesy the artist and 303 Gallery and Hauser & Wirth Photo: Dan Bradica
Shirley Kaneda Furtive Prominence, 2022. Acrylic on canvas. 48 x 33 inches. Courtesy the artist
Al Loving Elliestrip, 1974. Mixed media on paper collage. 79 x 70 inches. Courtesy the Estate of Al Loving and Garth Greenan Gallery, New York
Jiha Moon Haetae (nocturnal), 2022. Ink, acrylic, ceramic on Hanji mounted on panel. 24 x 24 x 3 inches. Courtesy the artist and Derek Eller Gallery, New York
Rebecca Morris Untitled 09-08, 2008. Oil and spray paint on canvas. 56 x 54 inches. Courtesy the artist and Corbett vs. Dempsey, Chicago; Bortolami Gallery, New York; Galerie Barbara Weiss, Berlin Photo: Nathan Keay
Jamie Nares Something To Do, 2022. Oil on linen. 78 x 28 1/2 x 1 1/2 inches. Courtesy the artist and Kasmin Gallery, New York
Pat Passlof Hamlet's Mill #43, 2002. Oil on linen. 78 x 48 inches. Courtesy Resnick Passlof Foundation and Eric Firestone Gallery, New York
Sandra Payne Untitled 14, 2020. Collaged paper on matboard. 20 x 16 inches. Courtesy Projects + Gallery
Erika Ranee Prize Inside, 2022. Acrylic, shellac, spray paint, gouache, oil stick, and collage on canvas. 24 x 22 inches Courtesy the artist and Klaus von Nichtssagend Gallery, New York
Miriam Schapiro Mixup, 1982-1984. Acrylic and fabric on canvas. 61 1/2 x 50 inches. Courtesy the Estate of Miriam Schapiro and Eric Firestone Gallery, New York
Peter Shear Refrain, 2022. Oil on canvas. 21 x 20 inches. Courtesy the artist and Fortnight Institute, New York
Alan Shields Would the Lok, 1989-1990. Acrylic, thread, yarn on canvas. 46 x 45 inches. Photo: Jason Wyche Courtesy the Estate of Alan Shields and Van Doren Waxter LLC
Amy Sillman LI1, 2022. Acrylic on paper. 22 3/8 x 17 15/16 inches. Courtesy the artist Photo: John Berens
Amy Sillman LI2, 2023. Acrylic on paper. 22 1/2 x 17 7/8 inches. Courtesy the artist Photo: John Berens
Amy Sillman LI3, 2023. Acrylic, ink, and colored pencil on paper. 22 5/8 x 18 inches. Courtesy the artist Photo: John Berens
Lesley Vance Untitled, 2017. Oil on linen. 31 x 24 inches. Private Collection, New York
This exhibition and catalogue are supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
