No man may be an island, but in the art world, a woman often is.
bG Gallery presents works by women exploring solitude: Paradise or Isolation?
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Date: June 13th-early July
Opening Reception: June 13th 5-8pm
Curators: Shaye Nelson and Nancy Larrew
Artists: Wangechi Mutu, Sue Wong, Madam X, Cathy Weiss, Linda Vallejo, Megan Whitmarsh, Kristine Schomaker, Sarah Stieber, Linda Smith, Erin Reiter, Courtney Reid, Gay Summer Rick, Allie Pohl, Trinity Martin, Nancy Larrew, Michelle Lilly, Mia Loucks, Kate Jackson, Brenda Jamrus, Simone Gad, Carol Friedman, MK Decca, Wini Brewer, Terri Berman, Nora Berman, Sofia Arreguin.
Historically, artists have relieved long hours of isolation in the company of their peers. The Ashcan School, the School of Paris, and New York’s mass of Post-War Abstract Expressionists are all examples of such camaraderie. But few, if any, women artists are found in the photos, records, and collections relating to these movements.Excluded from the society of their male counterparts, women artists can find their work dismissed as an avocation, a hobby, a squandering of time.Marriage, motherhood and society’s expectations might exhaust creative energy or worse, stifle it. Just like other working women, female artists can feel compelled to choose between family and career.No matter what path the female artist chooses, when she ventures out of the confinement of her studio to artists’ gatherings, galleries and museums, she will frequently find herself alone in a sea of men. The works these women create suggest a range of emotions in response to their position: anger, contentment, defiance, detached amusement and quiet introspection.Every work is a message in a bottle from an Island Girl.
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