L to R: “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. All artworks by Betty Woodman © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Betty Woodman. “Balustrade Relief Vase: 52,” 1992. 82 x 45 x 10 in. Glazed earthenware, epoxy resin, lacquer and paint © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Courtesy of David Kordansky Gallery. Photo: Phoebe d’Heurle.
"Betty Woodman: Conversations on the Shore, Works from the 1990s," David Kordansky Gallery, New York, New York, 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.
L to R: Spread from "Some Disordered Interior Geometries," c. 1980-81. Found notebook with artist's 16 lifetime gelatin silver prints, 24 pages + cover. 9 x 6 1/2 in. Included in the exhibition: First edition published by Synapse Press, 1981. | "I'm Trying My Hand at Fashion Photography," 1977, 4 11/16 x 4 15/16 in. Gelatin silver print | “Angels,” c. 1977-78, 3 13/16 x 3 3/4 in. Gelatin silver print. Artist's book image courtesy MACK. All artworks by Francesca Woodman © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Spread from "Some Disordered Interior Geometries," c. 1980-81. Found notebook with artist's 16 lifetime gelatin silver prints, 24 pages + cover © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Image courtesy MACK.
ON VIEW: Francesca Woodman in "Books Revisited," Center for Book Arts, New York, New York, 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: George Woodman, c. 1970s / “Loie with Sculpture as Herself,” 2007. Gelatin silver print / Painting, c. 1970s. Courtesy Remo Brindisi House Museum / George Woodman, c. 2010s. Woodman Family Foundation Archives. All artworks by George Woodman © Woodman Family Foundation / SIAE, Rome
George Woodman, c. 1970s. Woodman Family Foundation Archives.
ON VIEW: George Woodman in collection of Remo Brindisi House Museum, Lido Di Spina, Italy
George Woodman on view in this collection of Remo Brindisi House Museum, Lido Di Spina, Italy.
L to R: George Woodman. “Beauty is Truth,” 1976. 52 x 52 in. Acrylic on canvas. Image courtesy RISD Museum | Francesca Woodman. “Charlie the Model #10,” 1976, 5 5/16 x 5 3/8 in. Lifetime gelatin silver print | Betty Woodman. “Pillow Pitcher: Rain Forest,” c. 1980s. 20 x 24 x 16 in. Glazed earthenware © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
George Woodman. “Beauty is Truth,” 1976. 52 x 52 in. Acrylic on canvas © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Image courtesy RISD Museum.
RISD Museum Acquisitions
We’re thrilled that RISD Museum has acquired a group of important works by Betty, Francesca, and George Woodman from the Foundation’s holdings through a combination of museum funds and Foundation gifts. RISD occupies a singular place of importance for the Woodman family, from Francesca’s formative years there as a young artist and student to Betty’s 2005 solo exhibition at the museum and RISD Honorary Degree in 2009.
L to R: Installation views: "Pitti rivisatto,” Palazzo Pitti, Florence, Italy, 1997. Woodman Family Foundation Archives | 2: “Pitti, Medea, Roses,” c. 1988. 41 1/4 x 72 in / 4: “Untitled,” 1990. 41 1/4 x 78 in. | 6: “Untitled,” c. 1990s. 24 x 20 in. | 9: “Lovers within Venus,” 1990. 41 1/4 x 59 in. All gelatin silver prints. All works by George Woodman © Woodman Family Foundation / SIAE, Rome
Installation view, "Pitti rivisatto,” Palazzo Pitti, Florence, Italy, 1997. Woodman Family Foundation Archives.
George Woodman, “Pitti rivisatto," Palazzo Pitti, Florence, Italy, 1997
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: "War Sadness Escape," 1999. 42 x 39 in. | 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. All gelatin silver prints. All works by George Woodman © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
George Woodman. “War Sadness Escape,” 1999. 42 x 39 in. Gelatin silver print © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
George Woodman's camera obscura photographs in "Contrapposto & Other Stories," Jeff Bailey Gallery, New York, 2014
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 © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
ON VIEW: Betty Woodman in "Women's Work," Lyndhurst Mansion, Tarrytown, New York, 2022
Betty Woodman in “Women’s Work,” Lyndhurst Mansion, Tarrytown, New York. On view through September 26, 2022.
Francesca Woodman. “Untitled,” c. 1979. 5 7/8 x 5 7/8 in. Gelatin silver print © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
ON VIEW: Francesca Woodman in "Feminist Avant-Garde of the 1970s," Museum of Contemporary Art of Vojvodina, Novi Sad, Serbia, 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. "Untitled," 1980, 71 1/4 x 36 1/4 in. Archival pigment print © Woodman Family Foundation / VISDA, Copenhagen
ON VIEW: Francesca Woodman in "Women and Change," Arken Museum of Modern Art, Denmark, 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 “Untitled” (1980).
Francesca Woodman. "Self-Portrait Talking to Vince," c. 1976-77, 5 3/16 x 5 1/16 in. Gelatin silver print © Woodman Family Foundation / IVARO, Dublin
ON VIEW: Francesca Woodman in "girls girls girls," Lismore Castle Arts, Lismore, Ireland, 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.
Edwin Frank, Woodman Family Foundation board member. Image Courtesy The American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Edwin Frank, Woodman Family Foundation board member. Image Courtesy The American Academy of Arts and Letters.
WFF Board Member Edwin Frank honored with the Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts by the American Academy of Arts and Letters
Congratulations to Edwin Frank, Woodman Family Foundation Board member and longtime friend, on being honored with the Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He is a distinguished poet, founder and editor of New York Review Books Classics, and editorial director of New York Review Books.
Francesca Woodman. “Untitled," c. 1975-78. 3 3/4 x 3 3/4 in. Gelatin silver print © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
“The Lady of the Glove: Francesca Woodman and Surrealism" by Celia Bùi Lê
We are pleased to share “The Lady of the Glove: Francesca Woodman and Surrealism” by Celia Bùi Lê, who was our research intern in Summer 2021 through the Studio Institute. In her essay, Lê traces the history of Surrealism as related to women, both as maker and as muse, and discusses Woodman’s use of its tropes as a type of creative empowerment.