Mary Heilmann

Mary Heilmann combines elements of abstraction and Conceptual art with the bright colors, wit, and playfulness of the best Pop artists. Among the preeminent abstract painters of her generation, Heilmann creates works that are both formally adventurous and richly evocative, marked by loose brushwork and bold patterning. In addition the painting, Heilmann also works in sculpture, creating small ceramic works that echo the bold palette of her canvases. As the artist has stated, "I'm not adverse to gorgeousness, I just want it to look like it happened without a struggle." More recently, the artist has incorporated chairs of her own design into installations of her works, encouraging viewers to conceive of them as all-encompassing environments.

Heilmann's work has been the subject of numerous exhibitions, including the 2007-08 traveling retrospective "Mary Heilmann: To Be Someone," which appeared at the New Museum of Contemporary Art, the Contemporary Art Museum Houston, the Orange County Museum, and the Wexner Center for the Arts. She was included in the 2008 and 1989 Whitney Biennials and the landmark exhibition "WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution" (2007-08) at the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art and MoMA PS1.

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Articles

Is that really Wangechi Mutu in the new Marilyn Minter edition?
Is that really Wangechi Mutu in the new Marilyn Minter edition?
Marilyn Minter on Art, Life & Everything In Between
Marilyn Minter on Art, Life & Everything In Between
The Art Space Group Show: Red
The Art Space Group Show: Red
What I'd Buy This November
What I'd Buy This November
White Columns Director Matthew Higgs's Favorite Works from NADA
White Columns Director Matthew Higgs's Favorite Works from NADA
Hans Ulrich Obrist on Why Painting Is Urgent Now
Hans Ulrich Obrist on Why Painting Is Urgent Now
Beyond Bottino: 10 New Blue-Chip Chelsea Eateries
Beyond Bottino: 10 New Blue-Chip Chelsea Eateries
The Well-Earned Renaissance of Mary Heilmann
The Well-Earned Renaissance of Mary Heilmann
Donna De Salvo on the Whitney Museum's New World
Donna De Salvo on the Whitney Museum's New World
What Is the Pictures Generation?
What Is the Pictures Generation?
How the Grid Conquered Contemporary Art
How the Grid Conquered Contemporary Art
What Is an Artist's Artist?
What Is an Artist's Artist?
Alex Glauber on Lehman Brothers's Art Collection
Alex Glauber on Lehman Brothers's Art Collection