Harmony Hammond: Becoming/Unbecoming Monochrome
RedLine Art Space, Denver, CO
Curated by Tirza True Latimer
RedLine is pleased to announce the exhibition, Harmony Hammond: Becoming/UnBecoming Monochrome, which will juxtapose Hammond’s “weave paintings” from the late 1970’s with striking examples of her recent, large-scale “near monochrome” works. This exhibition will reveal the incredible range of Hammond’s abstract paintings and how they extend the discourse of abstract painting beyond the formalist framework. As curator Dr. Tirza True Latimer describes, Hammond is one of today’s boldest abstract painters and an internationally renowned artist, whose work has been the focus of over 40 solo exhibitions. Becoming/UnBecoming Monochrome aims to expand the feminist frame within which the artist’s work is traditionally shown and critiqued. This comparison invites viewers to understand Hammond’s oeuvre in relation to histories of queer feminist practice as well as discourses of contemporary abstraction.
An artist, curator, and scholar, Harmony Hammond has been at the forefront of the feminist art movement since the early 1970s - co-founding A.I.R., the first feminist cooperative gallery in Manhattan and Heresies: A Feminist Publication on Art & Politics. She continues to be a powerful advocate for lesbian and queer art, curating “A Lesbian Show” at 112 Greene St. in NYC (1978) and “Out West” at Plan B Evolving Arts in Santa Fe (1999). Her groundbreaking book Lesbian Art in America: A Contemporary History was published in 2000. In 2014, Hammond received the Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award from The National Women’s Caucus for Art. Her artistic practice spans a variety of media including painting, sculpture, and conceptual works. Hammond’s exhibition is part of the of She Crossed the Line, a year-long exhibition, and program platform, which invites nonprofit and for-profit organizations, businesses, and corporations to come together at RedLine and in the Colorado community to converse about and celebrate women’s leadership in the arts, society, and culture. It is the legacy of the Feminist Art movement to make visible the women that transformed art history, confronted women’s oppression, and began to rewrite the American cultural narrative to include women’s contributions across all social and political categories - RedLine wants to continue to support and showcase how that legacy continues in our community today. The opening reception for RedLine members will be held on August 2, 2014, at 6 pm, followed by a public reception from 7-9 pm. RedLine's exhibitions are free and open to the public.