Julia Phillips, Impregnator, © Julia Phillips, Courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery
Art

Julia Phillips and Sturtevant Explore Postmodernism, Female Form at Matthew Marks

Forward thinking-female artists Julia Phillips and Sturtevant debut their dual exhibitions in New York at Matthew Marks Gallery New York gallery at 522 West 22nd Street and 526 West 22nd Street.

Haring Tag July, 15 1981, Sturtevant, 1985, Sumi ink and acrylic on canvas, 9 7/8 x 12 7/8 inches, 25 x 33 cm. Image courtesy artist and Matthew Marks. Above: Aborter, Julia Phillips, 2022, ceramic, stainless steel, and plastic tubing. © Julia Phillips, Courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery.

"Sturtevant" focuses on six works by Sturtevant, who was awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Biennale in 2011. Sturtevant is known as the “mother of appropriation art” and can be recognized for her repetitions of other artists’s works. The show features work inspired by Robert Gober, Keith Haring, Jasper Johns, Man Ray, and Andy Warhol. These variations provide a thought-providing perspective on the original pieces, questioning the power of originality and authorship. Sturtevant said, “I make reproductions in order to confront, in order to trigger thinking,” an approach which led her to pioneer the postmodern movement in the 1980s.

Conception Drawing IV (Ovulation / Eisprung?), 2020-21, Julia Phillips, oil pastel and vegetable oil on Dura-Lar in artist's frame, 41 7/8 x 26 7/8 inches, 106 x 68 cm. Image courtesy artist and Matthew Marks.

The second show, "Julia Phillips: Me, Ourself & You," exhibits the work Phillips produced over the past two years. Phillips presents seven new sculptures and a series of drawings that continue her focus on the female form by examining themes of power, control, and abstraction. Her work tackling the subject of birth is particularly poignant, engaging with the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade and the artist’s own recent pregnancy. A portion of the profits from this exhibition will be donated to support abortion rights funds. 

"Sturtevant"  is on view at Matthew Marks from September 10 to October 22, 2022, at 522 West 22nd Street, New York, New York 10011.

"Julia Phillips: Me, Ourself & You" is on view at Matthew Marks from September 10, 2022, to October 29, 2022 at 526 West 22nd Street, New York, New York 10011.