L to R: All artworks by Betty Woodman. Images 1, 3, 5: Installation view, "Betty Woodman," Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 1996. Woodman Family Foundation Archives / Image 2: “Women at the Fountain,” 1992. 86 x 144 x 57 in. Collection of the Flemish Community, Belgium / Image 4: “Conversations on the Shore,” 1994. 84 x 160 x 41 in / Image 6: “Sala da Pranzo,” 1995. 25 1/4 x 32 x 10 in. All artworks glazed earthenware, epoxy resin, lacquer, and paint / Image 7: Installation view, "Betty Woodman,” Musée d’Art Contemporain, Dunkerque, France, 1997. Images 4 & 6: Courtesy of David Kordansky Gallery. Photo: Phoebe d’Heurle.
Installation view, "Betty Woodman," Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 1996. Woodman Family Foundation Archives.
"Betty Woodman," Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 1996: "Betty Woodman: Conversations on the Shore, Works from the 1990s," David Kordansky Gallery, New York
In September of 1996, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam opened “Betty Woodman,” a major exhibition of the artist’s work and her largest in Europe at that point. The works on view included two installations—“Women at the Fountain” (1992) and “Conversations on the Shore” (1994)—in which Woodman for the first time combined free-standing vases on the floor with an array of wall-mounted vases and flat ceramic elements.
L to R: All artworks by Betty Woodman. “Balustrade Relief Vase #52,” 1992. 82 x 45 x 10 in / “Athens,” 1991. 35 1/2 x 69 x 10 in / “Seashore,” 1998. 26 x 59 x 9 in. All artworks glazed earthenware, epoxy resin, lacquer and paint. All images Courtesy of David Kordansky Gallery. Photo: Phoebe d’Heurle.
Betty Woodman. “Balustrade Relief Vase #52,” 1992. 82 x 45 x 10 in. Glazed earthenware, epoxy resin, lacquer and paint. Courtesy of David Kordansky Gallery. Photo: Phoebe d’Heurle.
Opening this week! "Betty Woodman: Conversations on the Shore, Works from the 1990s," David Kordansky Gallery, New York, October 29-December 17, 2022
This major solo exhibition—the first of the artist’s work in New York in six years—brings together a group of ceramic sculptures from a critical and career-defining period in Woodman’s practice. Anchored by the installation “Conversations on the Shore” (1994)—which was last shown in the late 1990s as part of an exhibition tour which originated at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam—the works on view include a number of wall-mounted and free-standing sculptures, each engaged in a range of conversations about materials, history, function, architecture, sculpture and painting.
L to R: All artworks and artist book by Francesca Woodman. Spread from "Some Disordered Interior Geometries," 1980. Found notebook with 16 gelatin silver prints, 24 pages + cover. 9 x 6 1/2 in. Included in the exhibition: First edition published by Synapse Press, 1981. "Almost a square," Providence, Rhode Island, 1977. 4 11/16 x 4 15/16 in. Gelatin silver print / “angels,” Rome, Italy, 1977-78. 3 3/4 x 3 3/4 in. Gelatin silver print.
Spread from "Some Disordered Interior Geometries," 1980. Found notebook with 16 gelatin silver prints, 24 pages + cover. 9 x 6 1/2 in.
Francesca Woodman in "Books Revisited," Center for Book Arts, New York, October 7-December 10, 2022
Each of the works in this exhibition use existing books as raw material, examining ways that narrative, history and knowledge occupy space within and beyond the material and conceptual boundaries of books. Francesca Woodman created a number of artist’s books, attaching her photographs and writings into found books, often from Italy.
L to R: Various installation views: "Pitti rivisatto,” Palazzo Pitti, Florence, Italy, 1997 / All artworks by George Woodman. Image 2: “Pitti, Medea, Roses,” c. 1988. 41 1/4 x 72 in / Image 4: “Untitled,” 1990. 41 1/4 x 78 in / Image 6: “Untitled,” c. 1990s. 24 x 20 in / Image 9: “Untitled,” 1990. 41 1/4 x 59 in. All gelatin silver prints.
Installation view, "Pitti rivisatto,” Palazzo Pitti, Florence, Italy, 1997.
George Woodman, “Pitti rivisatto," Palazzo Pitti, Florence, Italy, 1997: From the Archives...
Twenty-five years ago this month, George Woodman’s solo exhibition, "Pitti rivisatto," opened at the Palazzo Pitti in Florence, and remained on view all summer long. His layered black and white photographs take this Renaissance palace as their subject, but also as an opportunity to reflect on time and the experiences carried within each viewer.
.L to R: Artworks by George Woodman. "War Sadness Escape," 1999. 42 x 39 in. Gelatin silver print / Images 2 & 4: Installation views, “Contrapposto & Other Stories,” Jeff Bailey Gallery, New York, 2014 / "Boboli: Fountain of Neptune,” 1997. 71 3/4 x and 41 1/4 in. Gelatin silver print.
George Woodman. “War Sadness Escape,” 1999. 42 x 39 in. Gelatin silver print.
George Woodman's camera obscura photographs in "Contrapposto & Other Stories," Jeff Bailey Gallery, New York, 2014: From the Archives...
Summertime is here again, and each year it has brought with it a fresh crop of summer group shows around New York City. Here’s one from 2014: George Woodman’s camera obscura photographs were included in “Contrapposto & Other Stories,” curated by Katia Rosenthal at Jeff Bailey Gallery in Chelsea.
Betty Woodman. “Portuguese Baroque,” 2013. 18 1/4 x 25 x 8 1/2 in. Glazed earthenware, epoxy resin, lacquer, paint.
Betty Woodman. “Portuguese Baroque,” 2013. 18 1/4 x 25 x 8 1/2 in. Glazed earthenware, epoxy resin, lacquer, paint.
Betty Woodman in "Women's Work," Lyndhurst Mansion, Tarrytown, New York, May 26-September 26, 2022
Betty Woodman in “Women’s Work,” Lyndhurst Mansion, Tarrytown, New York. On view through September 26, 2022.
Francesca Woodman. “Untitled,” New York, 1979. 5 7/8 x 5 7/8 in. Gelatin silver print.
Francesca Woodman. “Untitled,” New York, 1979. 5 7/8 x 5 7/8 in. Gelatin silver print.
Francesca Woodman in "Feminist Avant-Garde of the 1970s," Museum of Contemporary Art of Vojvodina, Novi Sad, Serbia, May 19-June 24, 2022
As part of an extensive international exhibition tour, “Feminist Avant-Garde of the 1970s” opens today at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Vojvodina in Novi Sad, Serbia. Organized by the Sammlung Verbund and drawing on works from their in-depth collections, the exhibition presents photography, video, film and performance by seventy-eight pioneering female artists of the 1970s, including photographs by Francesca Woodman. On view through June 24th.
Francesca Woodman. “Caryatid B,” New York, 1980. 71.2 x 36.25 in. Archival pigment estate print.
Francesca Woodman. “Caryatid B,” New York, 1980. 71.2 x 36.25 in. Archival pigment estate print.
Francesca Woodman in "Women and Change," Arken Museum of Modern Art, Denmark, February 5-August 15, 2022
“Women and Change” at the Arken Museum of Modern Art in Denmark considers unfolding depictions of women in Western art history over the past 150 years, a period that roughly parallels the history of the women’s rights movement. The exhibition presents works by 64 international artists that challenge ideas about the body, gender, identity and history, including Francesca Woodman’s “Caryatid” (1980).
Francesca Woodman. “Self-portrait talking to Vince," Providence, Rhode Island, 1977. 5 3/16 x 5 1/8 in. Gelatin silver print.
Francesca Woodman. “Self-portrait talking to Vince," Providence, Rhode Island, 1977. 5 3/16 x 5 1/8 in. Gelatin silver print.
OPENING TOMORROW Francesca Woodman in "girls girls girls," Lismore Castle Arts, Lismore, Ireland, April 2-October 30, 2022
Francesca Woodman in “girls girls girls” at Lismore Castle Arts, Lismore, Ireland. On view April 2 through October 30, 2022. Curated by Simone Rocha.
L to R: All artworks by Francesca Woodman. “Untitled,” New York, 1979. 3 5/16 x 3 7/16 in. Digital color estate print / "A Woman; A Mirror; A Woman is a Mirror for a Man,” Providence, Rhode Island, 1975-78. Gelatin silver estate print.
Francesca Woodman. “Untitled,” New York, 1979. 3 5/16 x 3 7/16 in. Digital color estate print.
NOW OPEN Francesca Woodman in "A Century of the Artist's Studio: 1920-2020," Whitechapel Gallery, London, February 24-June 5, 2022
Francesca Woodman in “A Century of the Artist’s Studio: 1920-2020.” Whitechapel Gallery, London. February 24 through June 5, 2022.
L to R: All artworks by George Woodman. “Cannon," 1980. 66 x 66 in. Acrylic paint on canvas / Images 2-6: Pages from the exhibition catalogue for “19 Artists—Emergent Americans,” The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York / "La Grande Fontaine du Printemps," 1980. 85 x 84 in. Acrylic paint on canvas / "Tessellation Sky,” 1975. 54 1/2 x 54 1/2 in. Acrylic paint on canvas. Collection The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.
George Woodman. “Cannon," 1980. 66 x 66 in. Acrylic paint on canvas.
George Woodman, "19 Artists—Emergent Americans," The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1981: From the Archives...
Forty-one years ago, 19 Artists—Emergent Americans was presented at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York featuring seven paintings by George Woodman, among work by eighteen of his contemporaries including Barbara Kruger, Guy de Cointet, and Manny Farber. The exhibition reflected curator Peter Frank’s desire to present the artists’ work as a series of small retrospectives. “What I have sought to assemble at the Guggenheim Museum is the skilled and confident visual articulation of engrossing ideas by individuals who have not been sufficiently recognized for their accomplishment,” he wrote.
Francesca Woodman. "Untitled," Italy, 1977-78. 3 7/8 x 3 7/8 in. Gelatin silver print.
Francesca Woodman. "Untitled," Italy, 1977-78. 3 7/8 x 3 7/8 in. Gelatin silver print.
"Francesca Woodman: Alternate Stories" featured in BBC Culture, December 12, 2021
Read a review on "Francesca Woodman: Alternate Stories" by Andrew Dickson in BBC Culture. The exhibition is currently on view through December 23.