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The Arts Intel Report

Action, Gesture, Paint: Women Artists and Global Abstraction, 1940–70

Wook-kyung Choi, Untitled (detail), 1960s.

Feb 9 – May 7, 2023
77-82 Whitechapel High St, Shadwell, London E1 7QX, United Kingdom

In America, during the postwar push into Abstract Expressionism, a few female artists were able to elbow into the limelight. Most, however, were ignored in favor of men. Proposing a counter argument to the Abstract Expressionist narrative, which begins in New York under Arshile Gorky and Hans Hofmann, this show presents the work of 81 female artists from Europe, Africa, and Asia, all of them toying with similar notions of gestural freedom and materiality. The exhibition of 150 works includes paintings by Lee Krasner and Helen Frankenthaler as well as lesser-known figures such as the Mozambiquean-Italian artist Bertina Lopes. —Elena Clavarino

Photo: © Wook-kyung Choi Estate and courtesy Arte Collectum