Interwoven threads of Impressionism, Modernism and Surrealism are on view at Madron to commemorate Women’s History Month, showing a breadth and influence of abstract style among generations of American artists. The diversity of the works almost portrays an identity crisis for what constitutes modern women’s art, which makes Madron’s exhibit all the more interesting. Globs of tangerine, yellow, azure and black slapped on a 1970s-era piece by Michael Corrine West invoke Jackson Pollock. In contrast, Martha Walter’s earlier work, “Paris Café,” depicts the gaiety of late nineteenth-century bourgeois leisure through impressionist strokes that are more defined than West. A splatter of multicolored, geometric confetti by Hilla Rebay contrasts the angular, surrealist scenes of Margaret Mullin. The majority of the exhibition’s works still cling to some amount of representation while being emboldened by abstraction. This is most clear in Marguerite Zorach’s “Farm with Barns and Trucks.” The barns and trucks in Zorach’s work are recognizable but de-emphasized in favor of the sublime countryside that is enlivened by emerald and peach hues. The blend of old and new dazzles, and for art lovers, the show’s variety is inviting. (Ben Broeren)
Women Artists Are Speaking—and Deserve Artistic Freedom and Safety We should all be grateful to artists who are willing to impact our public landscape and transform our engagement in these spaces, while never really knowing if they and their work will be protected.
Repurposing AI: A Review of Stephanie Dinkins at Stamps Gallery While this show is timely for everyone, I consider its setting within a university art gallery and emerging tech hub like the city of Ann Arbor a subversive provocation which Dinkins invites the greater public—including members of the university community—to consider our own positionality to AI and technology.
