This modest-size, thoughtful, insightful, and shapely show, celebrating the grant program, Anonymous Was A Woman, established in 1996 by philanthropist and artist Susan Unterberg, is testimony to the Grey Art Museum’s long-time director Lynn Gumpert on the occasion of her well-earned retirement. The gathering was organized by curator, writer, and editor Nancy Princenthal and curator Vesela Sretenovi´c.
The 25 years of awards honoring fifteen women artists annually features an eclectic range of artists addressing art from many perspectives in work ranging from the delicate to the muscular, from the fragile to the industrial, from the concrete to the ephemeral, and to the conceptual, the emotional, and the technological.
Despite the fact that the word “anonymous” implies unknown or even erased, this show honors women who have been recognized for their ability to claim a space in the pantheon of modern creators. The work of the 41 artists included in Anonymous Was A Woman: The First 25 Years, on view through July 19th, is not primarily about resentment or anger– though, sometimes it is– but more about imagination, self-realization, and exploring the nature of media and modes of expression. [...]
[...] More conventional video is in play with Janet Biggs’ underwater depiction of a swimmer in a 2007 piece, Airs Above the Ground, showing the figure’s determined potential for physical endurance.
