Three women. Three different worlds.
Somali-born, Kenyan-raised, self-taught painter Uman (b. 1980).
Legendary mid-century New York gallerist Betty Parsons (1900-1982). Early promoter of Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock. Little-known as an artist in her own right.
Fourth generation Diné weaver Marilou Schultz (b. 1954). Born and raised in the Navajo Nation.
Connected by art. Abstraction in particular.
The Hessel Museum of Art at the Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College, in Annandale-on-Hudson, NY, brings them together through three solo exhibitions spotlighting artists pushing the possibilities of abstraction and color.
Betty Parsons
Betty Parsons’ name is legendary in the art world. In one respect. Betty Parsons Gallery in Midtown Manhattan launched the careers of Adolph Gottlieb, Barnett Newman, and Clyfford Still among others in addition to Rothko and Pollock. Her platform and advocacy were essential to establishing Abstract Expressionism as the preeminent contemporary art form in the 40s and 50s and establishing New York as the epicenter of contemporary art worldwide. She ran the gallery from 1946 until her passing in 1982.
She had another side.
Parsons maintained a dedicated artistic practice throughout her life. The gallery closed every summer so she could focus on her art making. “Betty Parsons: An Expanded World,” through October 18, centers her output as a painter and sculptor while exploring the radical history of her gallery and its support of underrecognized, experimental artists. This is the first major retrospective to examine her intertwined legacies.
