There is still time to catch the exhibition that Barbara Galazzo, the founder and director of Gallery 66 NY in Cold Spring, calls “maybe one of the best we have ever had.”
We’ll let Galazzo explain how “Duality of Feminine and Feminist,” created in honor of Women’s History Month and featuring work by more than 25 artists, came together:
“Gallery 66 NY invited artists in a national open call to respond with artworks about what the ‘Duality of Feminine and Feminist’ means. Endless news cycles emphasize the fragmentary nature of our present society and divided nation. With this in mind, we asked our artists a number of questions to ponder. ‘How do women deal with how their gender is portrayed in this heavily charged political atmosphere?,’ ‘Should women and society at large be concerned with the manner in which a woman is portrayed as strong/weak, beautiful/ugly, feminine/feminist?,’ ‘Why are women’s rights under attack?’ and ‘Is the current political atmosphere an attempt to return to the stereotypical view of women as submissive and passive?’
“Artist voices in response juried into this exhibit come from across our nation. Artworks were chosen in a thoughtful and respectful process by artist/curator Karen Gutfreund, who has a long track record for creating, curating and jurying exhibits on themes of ‘art as activism.’ In fact, Gutfreund had just finished mounting her 25th major national group exhibition when she agreed to jury our exhibition. Her co-owned company, Gutfreund Cornett Art, is a curatorial program that specializes in creating exhibitions in venues around the U.S. She is a member of ArtTable, curator for unitewomen.org and the Northern California rep for TheFeministArtProject.
“Artworks in the Duality of Feminine and Feminist exhibit are varied with works on paper, glass, collage, porcelain, photography, painting, fabric, assemblage, appropriated imagery and mixed media with messages just as varied.
“Examples:
- Sally Edelstein’s collage of appropriated images looks at the ambivalence towards femininity and feminism in the second-wave women’s movement.
- Allegra Shunk’s work centers on ideas of emotional narrative and psychological purpose. Shunk’s use of jewelry supplies and fashion textile make the bound body in her work ornamental while retaining its lumps and scars.
- In Lisa Levart’s Goddess photograph, Leonore Tjia portrays Inanna, the Sumerian Mother Goddess in Mesopotamian mythology. In Tjia’s own healing journey she found that once she released all the shame about who she was as a sexual person and was cleared out, she found many gems – beauty, rawness, passion and intensity.
- Gail Stouffer’s glass serigraph sculptures responds to the continual struggle for female equality in pay, opportunity and treatment.
- Jessica Putnam-Phillips’ glazed porcelain serving dishes with laser print depicts a female soldier in full combat gear holding a rifle gazing upwards in hope and optimism. Jessica’s serving dishes put a different spin on women serving – serving their country rather than serving dinner.”
“Duality of Feminine and Feminist” continues through April 2. Gallery 66 NY is at 66 Main St.
For more, visit gallery66ny.com.
– Mary Shustack
