Blurring Boundaries: The Women of American Abstract Artists, 1936 - Present
LSU Museum of Art 100 Lafayette Street, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70802
Katinka Mann
"Red Yellow Polaroid," courtesy of the LSU Museum of Art
A new exhibit at the LSU Museum of Art in the Shaw Center, Blurring Boundaries: The Women of American Abstract Artists, 1936 – Present, examines how the hierarchy of distilled form, immaculate line, and pure color came close to being the mantra of modern art—particularly that of American Abstract Artists (AAA). From the outset—due as much to their divergent status as abstract artists as to their gender—women of American Abstract Artists were already working on the periphery of the art world. In contrast to the other artist collectives of the period, where equal footing for women was unusual, AAA provided a place of refuge for female artists. Through fifty-four works, Blurring Boundaries explores the artists’ astounding range of styles, including their individual approaches to the guiding principles of abstraction: color, space, light, material, and process. Included are works by historic members Perle Fine, Esphyr Slobodkina, Irene Rice Pereira, Alice Trumbull Mason, and Gertrude Greene, as well as current members such as Ce Roser, Irene Rousseau, Judith Murray, Alice Adams, Merrill Wagner, Katinka Mann, and Susan Bonfils (of Baton Rouge).
A virtual panel discussion featuring the exhibition’s curator, Rebecca DiGiovanna, artists Creighton Michael and Susan Bonfils, and LSU MOA Executive Director, Daniel Stetson will be held virtually on Zoom at 6 pm on July 14. Free, but pre-registration is required at eventbrite.com or at lsumoa.org/calendar. Free. lsumoa.