Judy Chicago with backdrop,
Boxing Ring Ad, Artforum, 1970
Exhibition announcement for Why Not Judy Chicago?, Azkuna Center, Bilbao, Spain, October 8, 2015 – January 10, 2016
Photo © Donald Woodman 2015
Judy Chicago has been a driving force in American art since the late 1960s, and a show of historic works from across the artist’s career is introducing a new generation to the feminist pioneer. Series such as Star Cunts (1969) — pretty pastel and pencil works on paper whose geometry subtly suggests a genital sphincter — established Chicago as a fearless practitioner and agitator for change in field which was at the time male dominated. This early minimalist-influenced series appears in, and gives its name to, the career-wide retrospective at Riflemaker, London.
Steel and acrylic dome sculptures, also from Chicago’s early career, show the artist’s increasing interest in mixed media and material appropriation. A decade after Star Cunts appeared, Chicago unveiled The Dinner Party, an extraordinarily beautiful, intricate and yet grandiose installation five years in the making that is recognised as one of the most important works of feminist art of the period.
Test plates that served as a practice run for her ceramic decoration in The Dinner Party are on show at Riflemaker for the first time, and there are many other important works from across Chicago’s career selected by the artist herself. Star Cunts & Other Attractions runs from 14 September to 31 December.
Judy Chicago, Study for Bigamy Hood
Judy Chicago, Star Cunts
Judy Chicago, Mother Superette
Judy Chicago painting Virginia Woolf plate,
Santa Monica, California, c. 1978
Photo courtesy Through the Flower Archive
Judy Chicago, Theodora Hrosvitha installation
The Dinner Party,
Installation Overview at Brooklyn Museum
Judy Chicago, Goddess #3
Judy Chicago, Goddess #6
Petronilla de Meath Capital letter drawing
