03/12/2024
The timeliness of “Making Their Mark” cannot be overstated, Janis Hashe writes in this week’s cover story. As many women witness forces attempting to thrust them back 50 years, the artwork in the current exhibition demonstrates these women’s resiliency, and indeed, their “resistance” to being pigeonholed by cultures dominated by men.
“[They are confronting] multiple centuries of brainwashing,” said Komal Shah, the art collector who inspired the exhibition, which was first published in the book, “Making Their Mark: Art by Women in the Shah Garg Collection in May 2023.” The collection was first exhibited in New York in November 2023.
The book and both exhibitions, of course, precede the election. But “the intergenerational dialogues in the exhibition, [the artists’] conversations with their predecessors, cause us to think about how difficult it has been for women for so long,” BAMPFA chief curator Margot Norton said. “These biases pervade every aspect of what we do.”
Art, she said, is “indebted to these artists,” for their innovations, and “how pivotal their work has been.”
Read more at the link in our IG stories or visit wklys.co/49gFJhV
Photos:
1) BAMPFA chief curator Margot Norton (left) and ‘Making Their Mark’ co-curator Cecilia Alemani stand next to Simone Leigh’s ‘Stick,’ 2019. (Photo by Samantha Campos)
2) Komal Shah, wearing one of Andrea Bowers’ ‘Political Ribbons,’ stands beside Aria Dean’s ‘Little Island/Gut Punch,’ 2021. (Photo by Samantha Campos)
3-5) Multiple artwork on display in ‘Making Their Mark.’ (Photo by Kelly Sullivan)
