Alexander Gray Associates Presents a Selection of Works by Joan Semmel

Written by Jonathan Butterfield Sunday, 01 May 2011 03:18

New York, NY- Alexander Gray Associates is pleased to debut recent self-portraits by Joan Semmel, in the gallery’s first solo exhibition with this acclaimed artist. Working consistently with figurative painting for over four decades, Semmel is primarily associated with the establishment of the Feminist art movement in the 1970s.  In the exhibition at Alexander Gray Associates, recent paintings continue the artist’s exploration of self-portraiture and female identity. The selected works represent the artist’s body, doubled, fragmented, and in-motion. Dissolving the space between artist and model, viewer and subject, these paintings are notable for their celebration of color and flesh. Soft and milky colors provide background for the luminous skin tones Semmel captures, as figure and ground merge. In many of the works, the artist confronts the viewer with a direct gaze, a departure from iconic earlier works in which the point of view that remained within the canvas itself. The exhibition can be seen at the Alexander Gray Gallery in New York until May 21st.

Joan Semmel (b. New York, 1932) studied at the Cooper Union, Pratt Institute and the Art Student’s League of New York. She began her painting career in Spain and South America in the 1960s. In the early 1970s, she returned to New York, where her practice turned towards figurative paintings, many with erotic themes, in response to pornography, popular culture, and concerns around representation. Her museum shows include: Shifting the Gaze at the Jewish Museum (2010); Rebelle at the Museum of Modern Art Arnhem, The Netherlands (2009); Solitaire: Lee Lozano, Sylvia Mangold Pilmack, Joan Semmel at the Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, OH (2008); and the touring exhibition WACK! Art and the Feminist Movement, MoCA, Los Angeles (2007). Semmel's paintings are part of the permanent collections of the Museum of Fine Arts Houston; the Blanton Museum, Austin, TX; Newport Beach Art Museum, CA; Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, VA; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC; The Parrish Art Museum, Southampton, NY; the Jocelyn Art Museum, Omaha, NE; the Jewish Museum, New York; and the Brooklyn Museum.


She is the recipient of numerous grants, including Anonymous Was a Woman and the National Endowment for the Arts awards. She is Professor Emeritus of Painting at Rutgers University. About her work, Semmel has noted, “Much of the revolutionary nature of Feminist art has been a seeking for new forms to invent a voice free of the dominant patriarchal tradition of the past. I have tried to find a contemporary language in which I could retain my delight in the sensuality and pleasure of painting, and still confront the particulars of my own personal experience as a woman. My intention has been to subvert the tradition of the passive female nude. The issues of the body from desire to aging, as well as those of identity and cultural imprinting have been at the core of my concerns. Sexuality for women has changed radically in the last century, and the possibility for female autonomy is connected to these changes.”

Alexander Gray Associates, a contemporary art gallery and advising firm, opened in 2006, establishing a profile for high-quality exhibitions focused on mid-career artists who emerged in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. This diverse group of artists are notable for their spheres of influence which cross generations, disciplines, and political perspectives. Through consulting and collection advising, they provide expertise and educational experiences for our individual and corporate clients. Alexander Gray oversees exhibitions, programming, and institutional relations at the Gallery. Prior to establishing the Gallery, Alexander Gray held numerous leadership positions in the arts, including Artadia: The Fund for Art and Dialogue; Artpace San Antonio; Art Matters Foundation; the National Campaign for Freedom of Expression; Visual AIDS; and the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gray is a trustee of the Archipenko Foundation, and serves on board of the Art Matters Foundation. He has lectured extensively at schools and universities, including New York University; Yale University; School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; University of California, Los Angeles; Art Center College of Design; and the University of Victoria.

David Cabrera (Principal and Co-Founder) oversees the management of the Gallery, including financial, personnel, and operations. As an artist, his work has been exhibited internationally since the 1980s. He was a graduate faculty advisor at School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; and has lectured on contemporary art at Bard College; University of California, Irvine; University of California, Los Angeles; and Art Center College of Design. Cabrera has designed and taught courses on professionalism in the visual art for graduate students. He received his BFA and MFA in Post-Studio Art from California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). Together, Gray and Cabrera bring a holistic approach to artist representation, client services and curatorial programming that expresses their shared passion for contemporary art. Visit the gallery's website at ... http://www.alexandergray.com/gallery

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