The groundbreaking exhibition Women of Abstract Expressionism celebrates the often unknown female artists of this mid-twentieth-century art movement. More than 50 major paintings are on view by artists working on the East and West Coasts during the 1940s and ’50s: 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. This is the first presentation of works by these artists together at one time.
Elaine de Kooning, Bullfight, 1959. Oil on canvas; 77-5/8 x 131-1/4 x 1-1/8 in. Denver Art Museum: Vance H. Kirkland Acquisition Fund. © Elaine de Kooning Trust
Women of Abstract Expressionism 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 by individuals responding to particular places, memories, and life experiences.
Mary Abbott, All Green, about 1954. Oil paint on linen, 49 x 45 1/8 in. Gift of Janis and Tom McCormick, 2013.250. © Mary Abbott
An original video is on view in the exhibition, and includes accounts about exciting moments in these artists’ lives, as well as issues affecting women during this time period. An educational lounge offers a space for visitors to explore the climate of the 1950s through images, ephemera, and music (with a playlist available on Spotify), a glimpse into other aspects of the artists’ lives, and a chance to reflect upon and share personal experiences.
The exhibition is organized by the Denver Art Museum and curated by Gwen Chanzit, the museum’s curator of modern art. After the DAM, the exhibition will travel to the Mint Museum, Charlotte, October 22, 2016–January 22, 2017 and thePalm Springs Art Museum February 18–May 29, 2017. So come and check it out!
————————————
We at Art-Collecting.com have two pieces for sale by Kathleen Gemberling Adkison. She was born on July 5, 1917 in Beatrice, Nebraska, to her parents, Rupert Parks and Henrietta Williamson. She attended Hawthorn High School in Kearney, Nebraska for three years, and graduated from Garfield High School in Seattle, Washington. She studied art and painting under Leon Derbyshire at Cornish Institute between 1938 and 1942. she was the last surviving artist trained under Mark Tobey (Jackson Pollock’s inspiration), she was an abstract painter who was considered one of the Northwest’s premier female artists. Her work has been shown in museums as early as 1960 when the Frye Art Museum staged a solo show of her work. She also had a show at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, formerly the Cheney Cowles Memorial Museum, in Spokane, Washington, from December 13, 1973 to January 13, 1974.
Original oil painting on canvas, by Kathleen Gemberling Adkison,
titled “Ferrous Luminate”. Numbered 8414 (60″ x 55″).
Original oil painting on canvas, by Kathleen Gemberling Adkison,
titled “Skagit Face”. Numbered 8031.
XXX: THREE WOMEN IN ABSTRACT is another exhibition in Seattle featuring artists, Jane Burton of San Francisco; Heloisa Pomfret of Sao Paulo, Brazil and Detroit; and Elise Wagner of Portland, OR. Each working within their highly trained and distinctive styles, contribute a narrative that explores the evolution of contemporary abstract painting.
Burton, who studied under Wayne Thiebaud at UC Davis, works in a gestural but highly disciplined style, layering color and finishes, inspired by both urban and natural environments. While her career has been predominantly in sculpture, she’s returned to her original chosen material in the last year and is intent on pushing the boundaries of the medium and through constant experimentation, herself as the artist.
Jane Burton, available at
Pomfret, exhibited internationally in Europe, No. America, and So. America, explores the inner human consciousness through work on canvas and paper, comprised of vaguely biomorphic or organic objects and multiple layers of color that are then meticulously scratched, revealing hidden layers and evoking a compelling, enigmatic, psychological connection with the viewer.
Heloisa Pomfret, available at
Wagner, a recent recipient of the internationally coveted Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant and a nationally renowned painter in encaustic, draws inspiration from her deep interest in Science. These paintings, drawn from a “rational discipline” yet expressed in the “irrational discipline” of abstract, are inspired by Meteorology, Cosmology, Astro Physics, Particle Physics, Cartography, Stellar Cartography, and all points in between.
XXX: THREE WOMEN IN ABSTRACT Opens August 1, 2016 (First Thursday Art Walk) With Artist Reception 6:00-8:30.
If you are interested in purchasing artwork by Kathleen Gemberling Adkison contact us at: info@art-collecting.com
Art-Collecting.com is an online art resource for collectors and other art enthusiasts. Visit our website and explore around. We feature more than 15,000 art links including online gallery guides for the major US art cities and every state, articles, art fair information and much more.
http://art-collecting.com
