The Norton Museum of Art is marking 15 years of its program dedicated to women talent, bringing “the best art of our time forward,” said curator Rachel Gustafson.
Art aficionados will experience two exhibitions through Norton’s Recognition of Art by Women (RAW) program: “Danielle Mckinney: Shelter” and “RAW: In Retrospect,” both debuting March 28.
Gustafson told WLRN this year’s shows are intended to spark dialogue around representation of women in art. “They are making important work and the world deserves to see them and they just happen to be women,” she said.
“ Men, more often than not historically, have been featured with these solo presentations in ways women have been ignored,” Gustafson added. “Really what it boils down to is visibility and making sure that the best art of our period is featured at the Norton.”
While women make up less than 15% of artists in major museums, they represent 44% at the Norton.
The program honors artists like Jenny Saville, whose large-scale paintings of the human body challenge conventional ideals of beauty; Sylvia Plimack Mangold, whose paintings of landscapes and interiors explore perception and time.
Phyllida Barlow's work features rough-edged sculptures made from everyday materials that upend traditional ideas of monumentality; and Rose B. Simpson's ceramic-centered art addresses Native American identity, culture and post-colonial history. And Njideka Akunyili Crosby's collage paintings probe her cross-cultural heritage between the United States and Nigeria.
The exhibition also features 40 works by Danielle McKinney, capturing quiet introspection in a divided world.
“In almost every composition in these paintings, you see a woman in an interior space, left to her own devices,” Gustafson says of McKinney’s work. “It’s kind of about what happens when the day is over and the door closes behind you. How do you find yourself?”
IF YOU GO
What: Recognition of Art by Women
When: Saturday, March 28 through October 4th.
Where: Norton Museum of Art 1450 S. Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach, Florida 33401
More information here.
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