Joan Mitchell East Ninth Street 1956
Women of Abstraction
Last week I was thrilled to be able to take in the Women of Abstraction Expressionism exhibit at the Denver Art museum. The exhibit is incredible and if you are within 500 miles you should definitely make the trip to see it.
The description from the DAM website says it better than I could:
“Women of Abstract Expressionism focuses on the expressive freedom of direct gesture and process at the core of abstract expressionism, while revealing inward reverie and painterly expression in these works by individuals responding to particular places, memories, and life experiences.”
I really don’t know how to put into words just how great this show is. The works are mostly very large and they are so filled with emotion and expression that I felt totally filled up by the time I was finished.
One of the most telling quotes from the exhibit was by Lee Krasner who was married to Jackson Pollock. It went something along the lines of I was a painter before Pollock, during Pollock and after Pollock but I am always known as Mrs Jackson Pollock.
Here are some of my favorites:
Helen Frakenthaler Western Dream 1957
Jan DeFeo Torso 1952
Judith Godwin Woman 1954
Lee Krasner The Seasons 1957