L to R: 1-3, 5, 6: Installation views, “The Mad MAD World of Jonathan Adler,” Museum of Arts and Design, 2025 | 4: Betty Woodman. “Indonesian Napkin Holder,” 1984, 18 1/2 x 22 1/2 x 10 1/2 in. Glazed earthenware © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York | 7: Installation view, “The Mad MAD World of Jonathan Adler" © Museum of Arts and Design
Installation view, “The Mad MAD World of Jonathan Adler,” Museum of Arts and Design, 2025
NOW ON VIEW: Betty Woodman in "The Mad MAD World of Jonathan Adler,” 2025
Curated by potter, interior designer, and author Jonathan Adler, this vibrant exhibition at MAD brings together over 60 works from the museum’s permanent collection, juxtaposed with Adler’s own iconic designs.
L to R: 1, 5: Installation views from “Places to Dream,” Kunsten Museum of Modern Art Aalborg, Aalborg, Denmark, 2025 © Niels Fabæk, Kunsten Museum of Modern Art Aalborg | 2: “Untitled,” 1980. Archival pigment print | 3: “Untitled,” 1979, 3 3/8 x 3 1/2 in. Digital chromogenic print | 4: “Untitled,” 1979, 3 3/8 x 3/12 in. Digital chromogenic print | 6: “Space2, 1976, from the Space2 series. 5 7/8 x 5 5/8 in. Gelatin silver print. All artworks by Francesca Woodman © Woodman Family Foundation / VISDA, Copenhagen
NOW ON VIEW: Francesca Woodman in "Places to Dream," Kunsten Museum of Modern Art Aalborg, Aalborg, Denmark, 2025
This September marks the final opportunity to view Places to Dream, an exhibition featuring photographs by Francesca Woodman alongside works by Cindy Sherman, Ana Mendieta, Birgit Jürgenssen, and Nan Goldin, among others.
Installation view, "George Woodman: A Democracy of Parts, Paintings 1966-1978," DC Moore Gallery, New York, 2025
Exhibition Video for "George Woodman: A Democracy of Parts, Paintings 1966-1978," DC Moore Gallery, New York, 2025
Watch the exhibition video to listen to Rebecca Lowery, Curator of Exhibitions at the Wexner Center for the Arts at The Ohio State University, discusses George Woodman's evolving use of tessellations and color.
L to R: 1: "Space²," 1976, from the "Space²" series, 5 1/16 x 4 13/16 in. | 2, 3, 7: Installation views, “Medardo Rosso: Inventing Modern Sculpture,” Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel, Switzerland, 2025. Photo: Max Ehrengruber. Image courtesy Kunstmuseum Basel | 4: “Legs,” 1976, 5 1/4 x 5 3/16 in. | 5: “Untitled,” c. 1975-78, 6 1/4 x 6 9/16 in. | 6: “#1” or “House #1” or “Abandoned House,” 1976, from the “Abandoned House” series, 5 11/16 x 5 3/4 in. | 8-9: Installation views, “Medardo Rosso: Inventing Modern Sculpture,” Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel, Switzerland, 2025. Photo: Julian Salinas. Image courtesy Kunstmuseum Basel | All gelatin silver prints. Artworks by Francesca Woodman © Woodman Family Foundation / ProLitteris, Zurich
Francesca Woodman. "Space²," 1976, from the "Space²" series, 5 1/16 x 4 13/16 in. Gelatin silver print © Woodman Family Foundation / ProLitteris, Zurich
NOW ON VIEW: Francesca Woodman in "Medardo Rosso: Inventing Modern Sculpture,” Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel, Switzerland, 2025
This Art Basel, visit the Kunstmuseum Basel to see Francesca Woodman’s photographs featured in "Medardo Rosso: Inventing Modern Sculpture."
L to R: “Untitled,” c. 1977-78, 8 x 8 1/16 in. | “Untitled,” 1977, 5 5/16 x 5 3/8 in. | Installation view from ““Blur / Obscure / Distort: Photography and Perception,” Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, Florida, 2025. Photo courtesy Norton Museum of Art. All gelatin silver prints. All artworks by Francesca Woodman © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Francesca Woodman. “Untitled,” c. 1977-78, 8 x 8 1/16 in. Gelatin silver print © Woodman Family Foundation / Bildupphovsrätt i Sverige, Stockholm
NOW ON VIEW: Francesca Woodman in "The Subterranean Sky: Surrealism in the Moderna Museet Collection" and “Blur / Obscure / Distort: Photography and Perception”
Works by Francesca Woodman are currently on view in two museum exhibitions about Surrealism and photography's relationship with truth at the Moderna Museet and Norton Museum of Art, respectively.
Betty Woodman. “Pillow Pitcher,” c. 1983, 17 1/4 x 20 1/2 x 14 1/2 in. Glazed earthenware. Promised Gift of David and Julianne Armstrong. Installation views from “Hot! & Ready to Serve: Celebrating Functional Ceramics,” American Museum of Ceramic Art, Pomona, California, 2025.
NOW ON VIEW: Betty Woodman in "Hot! & Ready to Serve: Celebrating Functional Ceramics," American Museum of Ceramic Art, Pomona, California, 2025
In honor of International Museum Day this past week, our Collections Coordinator Celia Lê visited AMOCA, where Betty Woodman’s "Pillow Pitcher" is on view alongside works by Ron Nagle, Paul Soldner, Peter Voulkos, among others in "Hot! & Ready to Serve."
Installation views, "George Woodman: A Democracy of Parts, Paintings 1966-1978," DC Moore Gallery, New York, New York, 2025
CLOSING Saturday, May 3: "George Woodman: A Democracy of Parts, Paintings 1966-1978," DC Moore Gallery, 2025
This week is your last chance to see George Woodman: A Democracy of Parts, Paintings 1966-1978, an exhibition tracing the development of Woodman’s singular approach to pattern and color over a series of paintings rarely shown in New York in more than 40 years.
L to R: 1, 15: George Woodman, installation view of "George Woodman: Paintings 1962-1963," Henderson Gallery, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado | 2, 6, 10, 12-13: Installation view of "George Woodman: Paintings 1962-1963," Henderson Gallery, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado | 3: “End of the Alphabet,” c. 1963, 52 x 52 in. | 4: “The Magic Box,” c. 1963, 55 x 45 in. | 5: “Landscape (After the Death of Adonis),” 1963, 72 x 72 in. | 7: “Untitled,” c. 1962-63, dimensions unknown. | 8: “Cleopatra (With Asp),” c. 1963, 48 x 51 in. | 9: “April Cool” or “Buddhist Shrine” or “Diamond Gestalt,” 1963, 70 x 70 in. | 11: “Love is a Bridge,” c. 1963, 52 x 52 in. | 14: “Mid-West Landscape (With Fallout)," 1963, 48 x 80 in. All oil on canvas. All artworks by George Woodman © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Woodman Family Foundation Archives.
George Woodman, installation view of "George Woodman: Paintings 1962-1963," Henderson Gallery, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado. Woodman Family Foundation Archives.
George Woodman in "George Woodman: Paintings 1962-1963," Henderson Gallery, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado
In December of 1963, George Woodman opened an exhibition of his recent paintings at the Henderson Gallery at University of Colorado, Boulder, where he also taught painting and philosophy of art. These paintings—made in 1962 and 1963—moved away from the loose abstraction he had previously applied to painting the landscape and towards an approach that recalled maps and aerial views.
L to R: 1: “Untitled,” c. 1970s, 72 x 108 in. Medium unknown | 2: Spread from “Criss-Cross Art Communications,” No. 6, published by Criss Cross Foundation, 1978 | 3: Various issues of “Criss-Cross Art Communications” | 4: “Untitled,” c. 1970s, dimensions and medium unknown | 5: “285” or “Bari” or “Winterreise,” 1975, 65 x 65 in. Acrylic on canvas | 6: “Tessellation Sky,” 1975, 54 1/2 x 54 1/2 in. Acrylic on canvas | 7: Spread from the exhibition catalogue for “19 Artists—Emergent Americans,” published by Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1981 | 8-9: Installation views, “19 Artists—Emergent Americans,” Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1981 | 10: “Double Reflection,” 1970, 66 x 66 in. Oil on canvas. All artworks by George Woodman © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Woodman Family Foundation Archives.
George Woodman. “Untitled,” c. 1970s, 72 x 108 in. Medium unknown © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
The Criss-Cross and Pattern & Decoration Movements. "George Woodman: A Democracy of Parts, Paintings 1966-1978"
By the mid-70s, George Woodman’s singular approach to pattern painting—as harmony between color and form—was well established and recognized among artists and critics alike. Woodman’s canvases were part of the larger zeitgeist around pattern in the art of this period.
1: “Magic Mountain,” c. 1970, 66 x 54 in. Oil on canvas | 2: “Untitled,” 1969, 48 1/4 x 48 1/4 in. Acrylic on canvas | 3: “Cascade,” 1974, 36 x 36 in. Acrylic on canvas | 4: “Untitled,” 1974, 66 x 66 in. Acrylic and oil on canvas | 5: “Cloud,” 1969, 68 3/4 x 58 1/2 in. Oil on canvas | 6: “Untitled,” 1970, 54 1/4 x 54 1/4 in. Acrylic on canvas | 7: “Untitled,” c. 1974-76, 59 x 59 in. Acrylic on canvas | 8: “Color Octagon,” 1975, 83 x 83 in. Acrylic on canvas | 9: “Winterreise,” 1975, 85 x 85 in. Acrylic on canvas. All artworks by George Woodman © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
George Woodman. “Magic Mountain,” c. 1970, 66 x 54 in. Oil on canvas © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Idiosyncratic use of color. "George Woodman: A Democracy of Parts, Paintings 1966-1978"
Pattern paintings made up of repeating forms can tend towards uniformity or sameness, but not so for George Woodman. Instead, he integrated color into his pattern systems as an equal to form rather than a subordinate, constructing compositions in which color steers and complicates the viewer’s perception.
L to R: 1, 3, 5: “Untitled,” c. 1973-74 | 2: George Woodman with sculpture, Antella, Italy, c. 1970s | 4: “Untitled,” 1975, 60 x 60 in. Acrylic on canvas | 6: “5 Sided Column,” c. 1973 | 7: “Untitled,” c. 1973 | 8: “Untitled,” c. 1974 | 9-10: Photographed sketches and notes, undated | 11: “Untitled,” c. 1964. Pyramid-shaped painting suspended from a tree in Woodman’s backyard, Boulder, Colorado. All sketches and artworks by George Woodman © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Woodman Family Foundation Archives.
George Woodman. “Untitled,” c. 1973-74 © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Woodman Family Foundation Archives
George Woodman's geometric sculptures. "George Woodman: A Democracy of Parts, Paintings 1966-1978"
George Woodman’s tessellated pattern paintings built upon observations made in the three-dimensional realm of architecture, specifically in the tiled surfaces that covered walls and floors as they emerged from and receded into space.
L to R: 1: “A Gentle Tessellation,” 1966/1968, 43 1/4 x 43 1/4 in. Acrylic on canvas | 2: “Pattern on Trapezoid,” 1967, 58 x 42 in. Acrylic on canvas | 3: Spread from “Award Winning Artists: Southeast and Southwest,” published by the National Council on the Arts and National Endowment for the Arts, 1968 | 4: “Untitled,” 1970, 96 x 134 in. Acrylic on canvas | 5: “Untitled,” c. 1966, dimensions & medium unknown | 6: George Woodman’s studio, Boulder, Colorado, c. 1967. Woodman Family Foundation Archives | 7: “Equivocal Hexagon,” 1967, 48 x 48 in. Acrylic on canvas | 8: “Untitled,” 1969, 48 1/4 x 48 1/4 in. Acrylic on canvas. All artworks by George Woodman © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
George Woodman. “A Gentle Tessellation,” 1966/1968, 43 1/4 x 43 1/4 in. Acrylic on canvas © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
George Woodman's tessellations. "George Woodman: A Democracy of Parts, Paintings 1966-1978"
Tessellations are a type of pattern in which one or more geometric shapes are repeated—and often rotated and reflected—to seamlessly cover a surface. In George Woodman’s case, that surface was a canvas.