The Female Eye: Group Exhibition

The idea for this exhibition took form early in 2017, when women and women’s concerns were experiencing a notable resurgence. For those of us at Gallery Henoch, featuring the work of our female artists has become a means to underscoring the talent and resilience of women everywhere. We hope to point towards a better future, one which affords women, especially women artists, increasingly greater visibility. Since its earliest inception by George Henoch Shechtman over 50 years ago, a relatively large percentage of the artists the gallery represents have been female. This is a part of our history of which we are particularly proud. Eleven of these artists have contributed paintings to The Female Eye.

Several influences converge in this exhibition. First, Gallery Henoch is a contemporary realist gallery. These eleven artists are representational painters who strive to portray life as it appears, but also as seen through the lens of personal experience, time and place. Three of them are figurative painters. Six prefer to do still life or landscapes. The work of the other two does not fit neatly into a particular category. Something similar may be said regarding methods. While the majority employ innovative color and/or brushwork, some also explore classical techniques more typical of Italian or Dutch Renaissance art. One artist utilizes resin in addition to paint. The overall theme is contemporary realism, but so much individual variation resides within.

Because the artists in the current exhibition are female, there is no doubt that gender affects the way they experience themselves in the world, and thus the way they see and portray it. The title of this exhibition, The Female Eye, refers to this phenomenon. Yet within this group of eleven artists there is no “Women’s Art,” only women who do art, each conveying her own personal vision. In presenting the work of our artists who are women, we seek to demonstrate the diverse ways in which each creates her art.

Finally, a portion of the proceeds from the exhibition will be donated to breast cancer research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Breast cancer is everyone’s concern, but it’s especially a women’s concern. Around the world women have had to fight for proper recognition, for humane treatment, and for appropriate medical care. We want to emphasize the importance of committing to worthy causes such as this. On a more personal note, George has contributed to research at Memorial Sloan Kettering for almost 35 years. We hope to continue this tradition, increasing the possibility that more women’s lives will be saved in the future.

-Nancy Hicks