Museum  December 11, 2018  Chandra Noyes

An Emerging Icon: Early Works from Judy Chicago at the ICA Miami

ICA Miami

Judy Chicago, Bigamy Hood, 1965, 2011. Sprayed automotive lacquer on car hood. 

Before she was world-renowned as a pioneering feminist artist, Judy Chicago worked in abstraction, using pastel hues to form geometric patterns. A new survey at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, shows the artist moving into figurative works, finding a clear voice to explore the feminist themes that would come to define her work.

ICA Miami

Judy Chicago, Earth Birth, 1983. Sprayed Versatex and DMC floss on fabric.

Judy Chicago: A Reckoning includes works from the 1960s to the 1990s, showing Chicago’s growth and experimentation, with ever-present thread of examining gender politics. Though she is best known for her massive multi-media The Dinner Party (1974–79) installation, which features dinner places set for history’s most important women, with individual ceramic plates and textile placemats, Chicago’s body of work includes a wide range of media. Her Car Hoods (1964-2011) series and bright abstractions may surprise visitors who expect work reminiscent of The Dinner Party.

Though there is plenty of work like this, too, such as the Birth Project series (1980-85), which celebrates the power and process of birth-giving and the creative capacities of women. There are also test plates and sketches from The Dinner Party, which show the creative process behind this iconic work.

Judy Chicago: Reckoning Installation View
ICA Miami

Judy Chicago: A Reckoning Installation View

Judy Chicago: A Reckoning Installation View
ICA Miami

Judy Chicago: A Reckoning Installation View

Judy Chicago: Reckoning Installation View
ICA Miami

Judy Chicago: A Reckoning Installation View

Judy Chicago: Reckoning Installation View
ICA Miami

Judy Chicago: A Reckoning Installation View

For the exhibition, Chicago will debut a new, site-specific smoke piece, A Purple Poem for Miami, in the museum’s sculpture garden on February 23, 2019. The piece revisits her iconic performance works from the 1960s.
 
Judy Chicago: A Reckoning is on view at the ICA, Miami through April 21, 2019.

About the Author

Chandra Noyes

Chandra Noyes is the former Managing Editor for Art & Object.

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