Modern Women: Visionary Artists

In the late 1940s, a new style of painting emerged that would change the course of modern art. A group of artists, working mainly in New York City, began to reject realism in favor of abstraction. In the tumult and malaise of the post-World War II years, their focus turned inward. Known as the Abstract Expressionists, their art launched a rebellion. Their work appeared spontaneous, idiosyncratic, and emotionally charged. They dripped and threw paint, used unconventional materials, rejected and recreated the rules of artmaking.

Although most often associated with such names as Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, and others of their male cohort, recent attention has turned to the women artists who helped pioneer the movement. This installation features seven women whose participation in the Abstract Expressionist movement contributed to the advance of modern art. At a time when social norms hindered professional advancement for most women, artists such as Joan Brown, Helen Frankenthaler, Grace Hartigan, Lee Krasner, Joan Mitchell, and Louise Nevelson expanded the conceptual scope and technical possibilities of what art could be. Their innovations extended into Post-War and Conceptual art, in which artists including Jenny Holzer continued to redefine artistic expression, paving the way for future generations of artists to explore new dimensions of creativity and meaning. Modern Women: Visionary Artists celebrates the enduring legacies of artists who not only transformed the creative landscape of their time but also continue to inspire and influence art today.

Works in this exhibition are from the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art and Art Bridges as part of Art Bridges’ Partner Loan Network program. This installation is the first in a series of long-term loans coming to the New Britain Museum of American Art from American art collections across the country. 

Featured Press

Visionary artists now on display
New Britain Herald, August 4, 2024