On Friday, January 26, 2023, The Galleries at Moore College of Art & Design will present its latest exhibit, (Re)FOCUS: Then & Now.
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of FOCUS, a citywide festival recognizing women artists, (Re)FOCUS honors the original event’s groundbreaking impact in Philadelphia and beyond, and revisits it through the eyes of women, nonbinary, gender-nonconforming and underrepresented artists.
As the first and only historically women’s college for art and design, Moore was a natural fit to host the works of (Re)FOCUS: Then, which spotlights work by nearly all 81 women artists in FOCUS. Moore also welcomes trans and nonbinary students, providing a strong platform for marginalized artists to put their talents on display for Re(FOCUS): Now.
Among the 81 artists featured in FOCUS was painter Alice Neel '25. Known for her expressive portraits depicting womanhood and the realities of life for working class families, the Moore alumna was one of the pioneers of feminist art in the United States.
Her 1975 piece, Claudia Bach Pregnant, serves as one of the focal points of the Goldie Paley Gallery portion of the (Re)FOCUS exhibition. Neel’s depiction of a pregnant woman sitting on a couch nude is a testament to her emphasis on intimacy and the female gaze in her work.
Neel didn’t just paint young women, which were the preferred subjects of the art world throughout her life. In 1980, at the age of 80, Neel created her first self-portrait, also done nude. The venture was another milestone in the painter’s exploration of depictions of women outside of traditional roles and aesthetic norms.
“Alice Neel is arguably Moore’s most famous alumna and a pioneer artist whose colorful and edgy portraits pushed the boundaries of her medium. Her unique perspective renders subjects in unexpected moments that are simultaneously serene and disturbing, an effect accomplished only by Neel’s signature brushstrokes and linework,” says Gabrielle Lavin Suzenski, Director and Chief Curator of The Galleries at Moore. “It’s an honor to have the opportunity to bring her back to where it all started as we celebrate an important moment in time that activated a collective movement around the importance of gender equality in the art world.”
(Re)FOCUS: Then & Now is on view in The Galleries at Moore through March 16. Visit our Events page to read more about the exhibition.
Image: Alice Neel, Claudia Bach Pregnant, 1975, oil on canvas, archival print edition of 50, 32 x 45 7/8 in.
