Exhibition
in New York, NY / United States
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- Betty Tompkins: Pussy Painting #26, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 16 x 16 in
P•P•O•W is pleased to present “Virgins”, Betty Tompkins’ first solo exhibition with the gallery. A pioneering, feminist artist, Tompkins is best known for her direct depiction of the female body, sexuality, and sexual desire. The exhibition at P.P.O.W will include paintings never before shown in New York, including her monumental large-scale “Fuck Paintings”; a new installation of “Pussy Paintings” and a new series of works on paper.
Tompkins creates paintings, drawings and photographs that often take as their starting point images found in mainstream pornographic magazines, using them to create classically framed, carefully textured works. By subverting a genre typically associated with men and the submission of women, Tompkins reclaims the imagery, positioning the female body as a strong and powerful force. While much of Tompkins’ early work was under appreciated by contemporary art critics, her provocative and complex paintings have recently had a resurgence in recognition, and offer a timely response to the current political climate. Through her work with a subject matter that has often been considered taboo, Tompkins has created a platform to reframe female sexuality, and to powerfully reposition the female body.
Betty Tompkins (b. 1945) lives and works between New York, NY, and Pleasant Mount, PA. Recent solo exhibitions include “WOMEN Words, Phrases, and Stories”, Flag Art Foundation, New York (2016); “Sex Works/ WOMEN Words, Phrases and Stories”, Gavlak Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (2016); “Real Ersatz, FUG”, The Bruce High Quality Foundation, New York (2015); Art Basel Feature, Galerie Rodolphe Janssen, Basel, Switzerland (2014); “Paintings & Works on Paper 1972-2013”, Gavlak Gallery, Palm Beach, FL (2014); “Woman Words”, Dinter Fine Art, Project Room #63, New York (2013); “Fuck Paintings”, Galerie Rodolphe Janssen, Brussels, Belgium (2012); “New Work”, Mitchell Algus Gallery, New York (2009).
Tompkins’s work has also been featured in numerous group exhibitions, including “Black Sheep Feminism: The Art of Sexual Politics”, Dallas Contemporary, Dallas, Texas (2016); “The Shell (LANDSCAPES, PORTRAITS & SHAPES)”, Almine Rech Gallery, Paris, France (2014); “A Drawing Show”, Matthew Marks Gallery, New York (2014); “CORPUS”, Zacheta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw, Poland (2014); “A Chromatic Loss”, Bortolami Gallery, New York (2014); “Sunset and Pussy”, Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York (2013); “Elles”, Centre Pompidou, Paris (2011).
Gallery hours Tues-Sat 10 am – 6 pm
Location:
P·P·O·W
535 West 22nd Street, 3rd Floor
10011 New York, NY
United States
