Through the Female Gaze: Online Show

  • Gallery Henoch is pleased to present Through the Female Gaze, an exhibition of paintings that highlight women as subject, inspiration,...

    Gallery Henoch is pleased to present Through the Female Gaze, an exhibition of paintings that highlight women as subject, inspiration, and artist.

     

    Women hold a prominent place in the art historical canon, the female figure being a favorite choice throughout all artistic eras. Noteworthy examples include Titian’s “Venus of Urbino”, the neoclassical “Grand Odalisque” by Ingres, and Manet’s “Le Dejeuner Sur L’Herbe” during the impressionist period. While beautiful and influential, these paintings have been criticized for depicting women inauthentically and through a warped male gaze. In our contemporary era, female artists are filling in the gaps and depicting women with sensitivity, infusing their paintings with personal experience. 

  • Sharon Sprung, best known for her figurative work and significant portrait commissions, depicts her subjects with warmth. The paintings that...

    Sharon Sprung, best known for her figurative work and significant portrait commissions, depicts her subjects with warmth. The paintings that highlight women are especially tender. With her distinctive style and bold use of color, Sprung reinterprets female nudes and portraiture in an empowering change to the way women are represented in art. In “Resting but Complicated” a young woman grips her pillow, reposing in a dreamlike state and suggesting a variety of nuanced emotions. Through her handling of paint in “Back Nude of R,” the artist imparts a naturalistic texture to the piece’s surface. In combination with this soft finish, her subject comes to exude vulnerability and a sense of connection, despite being turned away from us. 

  • Mavis Smith also uses her medium to add dimension to her work. She specializes in egg tempera, which facilitates the...

    Mavis Smith also uses her medium to add dimension to her work. She specializes in egg tempera, which facilitates the creation of intimate detail and the application of luminous layers of color. She depicts women in everyday environments, capturing the scene like a snapshot and giving it spontaneity and authenticity. For instance, “Take Out” shows a woman lounging on her couch with containers of Chinese food on the table in front of her. An observant eye will notice that there are two plates, indicating the presence of another person. Smith invites us into the lives of her subjects by invoking a spirit of curiosity, urging viewers to form narratives around the subject and to hypothesize about what is going on beyond the borders of the canvas. 

  • Through the work of contemporary artists like Sharon Sprung and Mavis Smith, the art historical canon is evolving to be more inclusive of female experience, humanizing the subjects and giving them importance beyond their bodily appearance. 

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