GWA Newsletter January '23 II

US Book News, Jaipur Literature Festival highlights, a new painting by Chantal Joffe, and your top 5!

Artwork of the week: Jenny Holzer, Abuse of Power Comes as No Surprise, 1982

Dear Great Women Art Lovers,

I hope you are all well.

To start, I couldn’t be more delighted to announce the US and Canada publication of The Story of Art without Men! Published by WW Norton, the book will hit the shelves on 2 May 2023. Pre-order your copy now!

With this comes a very exciting tour! Not only will I be living in NYC this Spring, but I’ll be travelling, talking and signing in the following cities:

• NYC

• Washington DC

• Philadelphia

• Boston

• Chicago

• LA

• San Francisco

…and more (including universities!). Do you live somewhere that I have missed out and would like me to visit? Let me know by commenting below.

( + How cool is this cover?)

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In other news, I’ve just returned from the most spectacular literature festival in the world: the Jaipur Literature Festival. I was lucky enough to be interviewed by the brilliant Alex Von Tunzelmann on The Story of Art without Men, and interview Anna Della Subin on her book, Accidental Gods: Men Unwittingly Turned Divine.

But the best part was watching all the incredible authors talk about their books. My top picks included: Edmund de Waal on his masterpiece, The Hare with Amber Eyes; Amia Srinivasan on The Right to Sex; Luke Harding, who has been on the ground in Ukraine for the past year, on Invasion; Merlin Sheldrake on Entangled Life; Marlon James on Moon Witch Spider; Ruth Ozeki on Timecode of a Face. And many more!

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Last week, we released another edition of our paid Substack: What everyone should read now. This is a new monthly newsletter where I go into depth about what I’ve been reading, with favourite quotations, pictures, and more. To receive these emails (more personal essays, reviews, Q&As, and more) – and to support this page – I’d be so grateful if you felt inclined to upgrade now for just £5/ month, or £50/ year:

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This week I wrote my column for the Guardian on Jenny Holzer’s timeless work Abuse of Power Comes as No Surprise, 1982, in light of Met PC David Carrick’s sexual offences against more than 12 women. Read now.

Some more news! I am very excited to say that I am now a Visiting Fellow at Murray Edwards College, the University of Cambridge. To celebrate, I’ll be speaking at the college on Tuesday 7 February. Book your ticket now.

And finally – currently on view at Skarstedt in NYC is a painting of me and artist Antonia Showering by Chantal Joffe. We sat for Joffe in September 2022: a week after my book was published, and a week before Antonia gave birth. Titled The Conversation, it is a record of the many joyous afternoons we spent talking about life and love, motherhood and womanhood, grief and heartbreak, art and Alice Neel. Don’t miss, on view until 25 Feb.

As always, here are your top 5s.

Katy xoxo

Chantal Joffe, The Conversation (Antonia and Katy), 2022

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5 Shows in the UK

Althea McNish, Golden Harvest, 1959

1. Alberta Whittle at Holburne Museum, Bath (until 8 May)

2. Althea McNish at Whitworth, Manchester (until 23 April)

3. Image as Protest: Joy Gerrard & Paula Rego at Cristea Roberts (until 4 March)

4. Linder x Hannah Wilke at Alison Jaques (opens 2 February, until 11 March)

5. Sonia Boyce at Turner Contemporary, Margate (opens 4 February, until 8 May)

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5 Shows Overseas

Nan Goldin, Nan and Brian in Bed, New York City, 1983

1. Artemisia Gentileschi a Napoli at Gallerie d'Italia, Naples (until 19 March)

2. Helen Frankenthaler and Jo Sandman at Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Maine (until 12 March)

3. Ming Smith at The Studio Museum, NYC (opens 4 February, until 29 May)

4. Nan Goldin at Moderna Museet, Stockholm (until 26 February)

5. THE PARTY at UNSW Galleries, Sydney (until 23 April)

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5 Things to Listen to

Paula Rego, The Dance, 1988

1. Making a Mark by Cristea Roberts on Paula Rego featuring words from Rego, her son and filmmaker Nick Willing, writer Marina Warner among others. (Don’t miss the GWA Podcast on Paula Rego with Nick Willing.)

2. Recording Artists by the Getty on Alice Neel, hosted by Helen Molesworth with Simone Leigh and Moyra Davey

3. Serpentine Podcast: REWORLDING with Gaylene Gould featuring Tai Shani, Irenosen Okojie and Kostas Stasinopoulos

4. Soheila Sokhanvari’s Rebel Rebel soundscape

5. Stacked podcast by Amanda Kingsley and Ziporah Banda

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5 Things to Read

Joan Mitchell, Edrita Fried, 1981

1. Eyes that Bite, Anne Enright on Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye for the LRB

2. Joan Mitchell at the Fondation Louis Vuitton by Eleanor Nairne for the LRB

3. The Other Side: A Journey into Women, Art and the Spirit World by Jennifer Higgie

4. As Russians Steal Ukraine’s Art, They Attack Its Identity, Too by Jeffrey Gettleman and Oleksandra Mykolyshyn for the New York Times

5. What Just Above Midtown Meant for Black Artists by Taylor Michael for Hyperallergic

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5 Artists Discovered

Annie Besant (1847–1933)

Besant was both a British social reformer and artist. She was inspired by the late 19th century Theosophist movement, which combined Eastern and Western spiritualist philosophies. In 1905 she published an illustrated catalogue of Thought-Forms: abstract shapes thought only to be visible when our senses are heightened through meditation or deep emotional effect, such as music.

Dhruvi Acharya (b.1971)

Dhruvi Acharya’s 30-year body of work reflects upon the artist’s internal psyche. Based in Mumbai, Acharya makes daily drawings chronicling her thoughts and observations. Her work is on view at the Indian Art Fair in Delhi, 9-12 February.

Joan Nelson (b.1958)

Born in California, Joan Nelson has been painting alchemical and mystical landscapes for the past four decades. At once intensely technical, Nelson’s paintings also feel as if left to chance, allowing the paint to blur into itself with unforeseen and magical results.

Renée Gailhoustet (1929–2023)

The French architect was a pioneer of social housing, and an advocate for urban housing to be designed in harmony with its environment. On 4 January 2023 she passed away in her home, Le Liégat, Ivry-sur-Seine – one of her best-known projects, finished in 1982.

Zoe Williams (b.1983)

Williams uses ceramic to explore the melting pot between fantasy, myth and magic. Although they look playful, deep down they are loaded with totemic power, like a 21st century idol for consumerism. Catch two works by her on view at Tate St Ives.

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5 Things to Do in London

1 February: Book launch and panel on In the Eye of the Storm: Modernism in Ukraine, 1900-1930s at Courtauld

2 February: Jennifer Higgie in conversation with Louisa Buck on The Other Side: Women, Art and the Spirit World at Foyles

2 February: Ayo Akingbade in conversation with Noo Saro-Wiwa at Chisenhale Gallery

9 February: Talk by Griselda Pollock at Whitechapel Gallery

10 February: Artist Talk – Lynette Yiadom-Boakye & Duro Olowu at Tate Britain

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If you think someone else might enjoy this too, please spread the word and share this article. If you have any feedback – or any reads, films, shows you’re loving right now – please comment below. See you next time!

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This newsletter is brought to you by Katy Hessel + Viva Ruggi