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Francesca Woodman. "Untitled," 1980. 4 15/16 x 4 15/16 in. Gelatin silver print © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Isolde Brielmaier on the work of Francesca Woodman: "Francesca Woodman: Alternate Stories," Marian Goodman Gallery, New York
On the occasion of “Francesca Woodman: Alternate Stories,” Marian Goodman Gallery commissioned eight video vignettes by an array of art historians, curators, and artists, each whom brought their own perspective to Woodman’s work and the exhibition currently on view. In this video, Isolde Brielmaier, Deputy Director of the New Museum and the Curator-at-Large at the International Center of Photography (ICP) in New York, shares her thoughts on Woodman’s use of the body and the nude in her highly crafted photographs.
L to R: “Untitled,” c. 1977, 5 1/4 x 5 1/4 in. | “Untitled,” c. 1977-78, 4 11/16 x 4 11/16 in. | “Untitled,” 1976, 5 3/8 x 5 9/16 in. | "Untitled," c. 1975-78, 4 1/16 x 4 3/16 in. All gelatin silver prints. All works by Francesca Woodman © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Francesca Woodman. “Untitled,” c. 1977, 5 1/4 x 5 1/4 in. Gelatin silver print © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Glimpses of hands and feet, Francesca Woodman: "Francesca Woodman: Alternate Stories," Marian Goodman Gallery New York
Francesca Woodman was well-acquainted with the traditions of Classical Western art and representations of the figure within it, which seeped into her own picture-making. While perhaps better-known for her photographs of the full female body—she specified that she used nudes “in an ironic sense like classical painting nudes"—Woodman returned again and again to highly composed glimpses of hands and feet.
Francesca Woodman. "Untitled," c. 1977-78, 4 9/16 x 4 11/16 in. Gelatin silver print © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Francesca Woodman. "Untitled," Rome, Italy, 1977-78. 4 5/8 x 4 3/4 in. Gelatin silver print.
Ann Gabhart on the work of Francesca Woodman: "Francesca Woodman: Alternate Stories," Marian Goodman Gallery, New York
On the occasion of “Francesca Woodman: Alternate Stories,” Marian Goodman Gallery commissioned eight video vignettes by an array of art historians, curators, and artists, each whom brought their own perspective to Woodman’s work and the exhibition currently on view. In this video, Ann Gabhart, Woodman Family Foundation Board member, former Director of the Wellesley College Museum, and curator of Woodman’s first solo museum exhibition at Wellesley and Hunter Colleges in 1986, reflects on her early experiences with and impressions of Woodman’s work.
L to R: 1-6: Spreads from "Some Disordered Interior Geometries,” c. 1980-81. From original artist book, 24 pages + cover | "Almost a Square," 1977, 4 7/16 x 4 9/16 in. | "Angels," c. 1977-78, 3 13/16 x 3 3/4 in. | "Untitled," c. 1977-78, 4 9/16 x 4 11/16 in. | All gelatin silver prints. Artist's book images courtesy MACK. All works by Francesca Woodman © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Francesca Woodman. Spread from "Some Disordered Interior Geometries,” c. 1980-81. Image courtesy MACK. Artwork © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
"Some Disordered Interior Geometries," Rome, Italy: "Francesca Woodman: Alternate Stories," Marian Goodman Gallery, New York
Francesca Woodman was a frequent visitor to the Maldoror bookshop during the year she spent studying in Rome. In the hours she spent rooting through the stacks there, she began to collect old notebooks filled with elaborate handwriting exercises and objective mathematical lessons, all in Italian.
L to R: All artworks by Francesca Woodman. “Splatter Paint,” Rome, Italy, 1977-78. 4 5/8 x 4 5/8 in / “Untitled,” Italy, 1977-78. 4 5/8 x 4 5/8 in (Giuseppe Gallo with Francesca Woodman) / All gelatin silver prints / Giuseppe Gallo, Bruno Ceccobelli, Francesca Woodman, Angelo Segneri, and Gianni Dessi installing the exhibition “Cinque Giovani Artisti" at Galleria Ugo Ferranti, Rome, 1978, photo © Mimmo Capone / Ugo Ferranti Archive / 4-5: Invitation card for “Cinque Giovani Artisti" at Galleria Ugo Ferranti, Rome, 1978. Woodman Family Foundation Archives.
Francesca Woodman. “Splatter Paint,” c. 1977-78. 4 5/8 x 4 5/8 in © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Ugo Ferranti Gallery, Rome, Italy: "Francesca Woodman: Alternate Stories," Marian Goodman Gallery, New York
"While I was in Rome my Junior year I began to work with the ideas that presently occupy me,” Francesca Woodman wrote in 1980. “I also met a number of Italian artists who shared similar concerns in other mediums. In June we had a show at the Ugo Ferranti Gallery, my first exhibition in a prestigious gallery. That year I also showed at the Libreria Maldoror, a book store and gallery specializing in Futurist and Dada Literature. The owners introduced me to many rare books and writers, ets.”
L to R: “Untitled," c. 1976. 4 11/16 x 4 11/16 in. | “Untitled," c. 1976. 4 5/8 x 4 5/8 in. | “Untitled,” c. 1976. 5 3/16 x 5 3/16 in. | Images 4-7: “Untitled,” made at La Specola, Florence, Italy, c. 1971. All gelatin silver prints. All works by Francesca Woodman © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Francesca Woodman. “Untitled," c. 1976. 4 11/16 x 4 11/16 in. Gelatin silver print © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
La Specola Museum, Florence, Italy: "Francesca Woodman: Alternate Stories,” Marian Goodman Gallery, New York
Over the course of Francesca Woodman's solo exhibition "Francesca Woodman: Alternate Stories" at Marian Goodman Gallery New York, we’ll be sharing additional images and materials from Woodman’s archive which shed light on her process and elaborate on specific works currently on view.
L to R: Installation views, "Francesca Woodman: Alternate Stories," Marian Goodman Gallery, New York, 2021. Courtesy of Marian Goodman Gallery. Photos by Alex Yudzon.
Installation view, "Francesca Woodman: Alternate Stories," Marian Goodman Gallery, New York, 2021. Courtesy of Marian Goodman Gallery. Photo: Alex Yudzon
"Francesca Woodman: Alternate Stories" at Marian Goodman Gallery, New York, New York, 2021
This solo exhibition of vintage photographs by Francesca Woodman includes more than twenty previously unseen works and draws on the artist's writings about her practice in newly available archival material from the Foundation's holdings. The show presents thematic threads and groupings of images in relational contexts, offering a fresh perspective on Woodman's work.
Betty Woodman. Installation view and details, "Alessandro’s Rooms," 2011. 102.5 x 354.5 x 15.75 in. Glazed earthenware, epoxy resin, lacquer, acrylic paint, canvas © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Betty Woodman. "Alessandro’s Rooms," 2011. 102.5 x 354.5 x 15.75 in. Glazed earthenware, epoxy resin, lacquer, acrylic paint, canvas © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
ON VIEW: Betty Woodman in "The Flames: The Age of Ceramics" at Musee d'Art Moderne de Paris, Paris, France, 2021
"The Flames" takes a transhistorical approach to ceramics to assert the critical relationship of clay to both art and humankind. The exhibition combines ancient objects dating back to the Neolithic with those made by contemporary artists—including Betty Woodman—and everything in between.
Francesca Woodman. "Untitled," 1978, 8 3/8 x 8 9/16 in. Gelatin silver print © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
ON VIEW: Francesca Woodman in “New Time: Art and Feminisms in the 21st Century” at BAMPFA, Berkeley, California, 2021
This ambitious survey of recent feminist practices in contemporary art begins with Lucy Lippard’s observation that feminist art is “a value system, a revolutionary strategy, a way of life.” While the majority of works on view were made in the first two decades of this century, highlighting the wide-ranging concerns and multiple perspectives of contemporary artists, influential works made by artists of earlier generations are also featured, including three photographs by Francesca Woodman.
Envelope for letter from George Woodman in Boulder, Colorado to Francesca Woodman in Rome, Italy, October 19, 1977. Woodman Family Foundation Archives.
Betty Woodman, Francesca Woodman, and George Woodman in “Interior Scroll or What I Did on My Vacation” at S&S Corner Shop, The Art Building, Springs, New York, 2021
We are pleased to announce that this exhibition includes a selection of correspondence written between Betty, Francesca and George Woodman in 1978, as well as Francesca Woodman’s “Selected Video Works,” 1976-1978.
L to R: Installation view, “Rincontrarsi a Venezia,” Spazio Berlendis, Venice, Italy, 2021, including “Untitled,” 1980. 101.93 x 36.62 in. Diazotype / "Self-Deceit #2,” 1978, from the "Self-Deceit" series, 3 9/16 x 3 1/4 in. / “Self-Deceit #7,” 1978, from the "Self-Deceit" series. 3 5/8 x 3 9/16 in. All gelatin silver prints. All works by Francesca Woodman © Woodman Family Foundation / SIAE, Rome
Installation view, “Rincontrarsi a Venezia,” Spazio Berlendis, Venice, Italy, 2021. Artwork by Francesca Woodman © Woodman Family Foundation / SIAE, Rome
Francesca Woodman in “Rincontrarsi a Venezia” at Spazio Berlendis, Venice, Italy, 2021
LAST CHANCE TO SEE Francesca Woodman in Rincontrarsi a Venezia at Spazio Berlendis, Venice, Italy. On view through July 17, 2021.
Betty Woodman. “Shelf and Vase: Zante,” 1985. 31 x 21 x 9 in. Glazed earthenware, epoxy resin, lacquer, acrylic paint © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Betty Woodman in “With Pleasure: Pattern and Decoration in American Art 1972-1985” at Hessel Museum of Art, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, 2021
This ambitious exhibition, curated by Anna Katz, brings together American artists, including Betty Woodman, associated with the Pattern and Decoration movement in the first such comprehensive and scholarly survey. The exhibition showcases painting, sculpture, collage, ceramics, installation and performance which embraced craft-based and decorative traditions and approached art-making from a sometimes dizzying appreciation of historic sources and feminist aesthetics.