The Great Women Artists

In Episode 26 of The Great Women Artists Podcast, Katy Hessel interviews the highly-acclaimed, sensation of a painter, FLORA YUKHNOVICH! [This episode is brought to you by Alighieri jewellery: www.alighieri.co.uk | use the code TGWA at checkout for 10% off!] And WOW was it an honour to interview Flora at her studio (the week before lockdown!) and discuss in-depth her INCREDIBLE works that adopt the language of the Rococo, reimagining the DYNAMISM of works by 18th century artists such as Tiepolo to Fragonard! Fusing high and low cultures through a filter of contemporary Cultural references, including film, food, and music videos – think Katy Perry to Niki Minaj! – Flora brings in painterly traditions in a more consciously feminine realm by featuring wisps of millennial pinks and purples. Variation is a driving force with mark making ranging from delicate flourishes through dramatic and gestural brushstrokes heightening the rhythmic sensuality that play that conjure up in her MASTERPIECES. Since graduating from City and Guilds in 2017, Flora has gone on to exhibited widely – including at the likes of Leeds Art Gallery, Parafin, Jerwood Gallery, as well as completing the Great Women Artists residency at Palazzo Monti (!) and has a current (now online!) exhibition at VICTORIA MIRO! Check it out:  https://www.victoria-miro.com/exhibitions/558/ In this episode we uncover Flora's meticulous process, her references, beginnings as an artist, and her love for the Rococo – as well as such an insight into its history. Wow.  We also discuss her experience living in Venice, where she visited the Tiepolos on a daily basis, and reimagined them in her masterpieces!!!  Flora is a GENIUS, and one of the most highly regarded young painters in the WORLD right now, so please do enjoy this episode!  This episode is sponsored by Alighieri  https://alighieri.co.uk/ @alighieri_jewellery Use the code: TGWA for 10% off!  Follow us: Katy Hessel: @thegreatwomenartists / @katy.hessel Sound editing by Amber Miller (@amber_m.iller) Artwork by @thisisaliceskinner Music by Ben Wetherfield https://www.thegreatwomenartists.com/

In Episode 25 of The Great Women Artists Podcast, Katy Hessel interviews the world-renowned writer and critic, OLIVIA LAING on Chantal Joffe, Sarah Lucas, and Ana Mendieta! [This episode is brought to you by Alighieri jewellery: www.alighieri.co.uk | use the code TGWA at checkout for 10% off!] And WOW. Was it an honour to interview Olivia: one of the greatest writers working today and the author of some of my favourite books: To The River, The Trip to Echo Spring, Crudo, and The Lonely City, which explores artists’ loneliness in New York City – the most powerful book I have ever read (http://olivialaing.co.uk/lonely-city). Just last month she published an outstanding – and very timely – collection of essays titled Funny Weather: Art in an Emergency, which features in-depth essays about artists’ lives, from Derek Jarman to Georgia O’Keeffe, love letters to the likes of David Bowie, plus her encounters and friendships with Chantal Joffe and Sarah Lucas! https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/olivia-laing/funny-weather/9781529027648 SO, in this episode – a little different to previous ones – we talk to Olivia about her top three female artists, and wow did she speak eloquently, passionately, enthusiastically, and just brilliantly about these PIONEERING artists. We deep dive into her friendship with painter Chantal Joffe, whom Olivia has sat for on multiple occasions, and who she has also written about sitting for too! (Check out one of her essays here: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/may/12/chantal-joffe-paints-olivia-laing-mutual-portraits-words-and-paint) When asked about how Chantal captures people she says: "it's more that she sees a changing self. Every painting she does. It's very Virginia Woolf, the sense of somebody being so fluid through time in history, somebody moving so sinuously into different selves." Then we speak about the GENIUS who is Sarah Lucas. We discuss the immediacy of her work; how her sculptures make us feel and give precedent to how we inhabit our bodies; their POWER, humour, and comments on society. Finally we end with the great Ana Mendieta. One of the most important artists of the 20th century, Mendieta was known for exploring the body and identity through her performative and photographic works, that confront us directly as viewers: furiously, immediately, powerfully. It was a complete honour to speak with Olivia Laing, one of the greatest writers living right now. Further reading: http://olivialaing.co.uk/home I hope you enjoy the episode! This episode is sponsored by Alighieri  https://alighieri.co.uk/ @alighieri_jewellery Use the code: TGWA for 10% off!  Follow us: Katy Hessel: @thegreatwomenartists / @katy.hessel Sound editing by Amber Miller (@amber_m.iller) Artwork by @thisisaliceskinner Music by Ben Wetherfield

In Episode 24 of The Great Women Artists Podcast, Katy Hessel interviews the AMAZING artist PRUDENCE FLINT!! One of my FAVOURITE artists of 2020 – with her work particularly resonating with me at the time of lockdown – Prudence is known for her eerily quiet scenes of characters silently going about their daily lives. Swept up in her signature pastel-like palette, whilst it might at first appear as though her figures are performing seemingly mundane activities – lying on a bed to brushing their teeth – Prudence gives precedent to their actions by creating tense atmospheres in her slightly distorted and jarring environments. Painting both men and women, but focusing much more heavily on the female and the female psyche, Prudence’s work invites us into a narrative – an intimate, contemplative and private life, where we as viewers very much become an intruder, or a voyeur.  Based in Melbourne, Prudence is one of Australia's leading painters and is VERY excitingly included in an exhibition I have excitingly curated titled ‘Dwelling is the Light” at Timothy Taylor Gallery, featuring a multigenerational group of women exploring the relationship between interiors and the outdoors (https://timothytaylor.com/viewing-rooms/dwelling-is-the-light/). Speaking about women in her work she has said, “I wish for women to be at the center of things… to be all things, whole, boundless, perverse, and representative of humanity. I want to give voice to this experience of being alive, now, in this culture, as a woman.” I LOVED interviewing Prudence. It was such an insight to hear about her work in the context of the History of Art and her interest in the divine; exploring the beauty of the everyday; intensity of the home; dynamics between humans and their surroundings; and putting women at the centre of her work. Thank you for listening!! This episode is sponsored by Alighieri  https://alighieri.co.uk/ @alighieri_jewellery Use the code: TGWA for 10% off!  Follow us: Katy Hessel: @thegreatwomenartists / @katy.hessel Sound editing by Amber Miller (@amber_m.iller) Artwork by @thisisaliceskinner Music by Ben Wetherfield https://www.thegreatwomenartists.com/

In Episode 23 of The Great Women Artists Podcast, Katy Hessel interviews one of the world's GREATEST writers and curators, Helen Molesworth on ALICE NEEL !!! The most exceptional portrait painter to ever life, and in my opinion, the most pioneering artist there ever was, Alice Neel was a visionary. Born as early as 1900 and based in NYC for her entire adulthood, Neel's life corresponded with the 20th century, which saw her live through political events, as well as a multitude of art movements and styles.   Painting her portraits in her signature thick blue and black outlines; scrutinising her sitter in every way; capturing the essence of the encounter; and owning her subject, Neel remained continuously loyal to her painterly style throughout the course of her six-decade-plus career.  Capturing art world stars such as Andy Warhol, to her cleaner Carmen and landlord's son, Benjamin, Alice Neel painted the world and community she surrounded herself, first in Harlem, and then on the Upper West Side. Dubbed 'a collector of souls' she painted people how she saw them: frank, honest, expressive, and truthful.  And then there are her revolutionary paintings of the nude: from sexualised portrayals of men to protruding pregnant women. WOW. Was she groundbreaking.  It was completely amazing to interview the genius Helen Molesworth, who is SO insightful on the life and work of Alice Neel. One of the most fun episodes I have ever recorded, we deep dive into Neel discussing her take on men, her encounters, and what her art means for the history of art.  Further reading/watching: Helen Molesworth at David Zwirner: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aULGfEQZPUA Essay by Helen Molesworth: https://www.davidzwirner.com/exhibitions/freedom-0 Hilton Als curated show, Uptown, at Victoria Miro: https://www.victoria-miro.com/exhibitions/506/ Thank you for listening!! This episode is sponsored by Alighieri https://alighieri.co.uk/ @alighieri_jewellery Enjoy 10% off using the code TGWA! Follow us: Katy Hessel: @thegreatwomenartists / @katy.hessel Sound editing by Amber Miller (@amber_m.iller) Artwork by @thisisaliceskinner Music by Ben Wetherfield https://www.thegreatwomenartists.com/

In Episode 22 of The Great Women Artists Podcast, Katy Hessel interviews the world-renowned feminist art historian, Dr Jo Applin, on the legendary, LOUISE BOURGEOIS !!! Born as early as 1911 and living for nearly ONE HUNDRED years, Louise Bourgeois was a visionary. One of the most important artists ever to exist, in this episode we deep dive into her extraordinary life and pioneering work, that marked a shift in art, forever.  Known for her large-scale sculptures and cell-like installations, as well as paintings, drawings, sculptures and more, Louise Bourgeois began her artistic practice in her native Paris. Originally associated with Surrealism due to her integration of fantastic elements into her prints and sculptures, when she moved to NYC in 1938, Louise began to focus on sculpture: creating biomorphic forms that enact the physicality of the body.  Whilst the 40s saw her experiment with her 'Personages' sculptures and paintings reminiscent of the female in the domestic space, the 60s saw her move into suggestive organ-like works using unconventional materials – from resin, latex, and cloth – to allude to a tension between quintessentially male and female forms. With the 70s marking a cultural shift in feminist ideas, Louise started to garner recognition, which was cemented by a major retrospective at MoMA in 1982. The last few decades saw her create her most iconic and most experimental: the giant spiders – which we discuss in great detail (in particular the Dia: Beacon exhibit) – and cells, which capture Bourgeois's quietly screaming psyche in way that has never before been documented.  I LOVED recording this episode with Jo Applin – one day prior to lockdown! Jo is also the Head of the History of Art department at the Courtauld Institute of Art. Focussing on American art since 1960, her research addresses questions of abstraction, ageing, eccentricity, feminism, sexuality, and subjectivity.  Thank you for listening!! This episode is sponsored by Alighieri  https://alighieri.co.uk/ @alighieri_jewellery Follow us: Katy Hessel: @thegreatwomenartists / @katy.hessel Sound editing by Amber Miller (@amber_m.iller) Artwork by @thisisaliceskinner Music by Ben Wetherfield https://www.thegreatwomenartists.com/

In Episode 21 of The Great Women Artists Podcast, Katy Hessel interviews the brilliant Whitechapel Gallery curator, Laura Smith on the acclaimed surrealist EILEEN AGAR! One of THE leading artists of the 20th century, Agar’s extensive seven-decade career spanned vibrant painting, collage, and found objects. It saw her create monumental four-metre wide canvases, to plaster heads, infused with feathers, diamonds, ribbons, and bows that defied all gender stereotypes. Born in Buenos Aires in 1899, Agar grew up in a strict, traditional household with a mother who wanted her to be married off. But Eileen had different thoughts. Running away to The Slade in the 1920s, Eileen was taken with the flamboyancy and eccentricity artists had to offer. But again, she was fed up with the traditions of art, and fled to Paris after destroying all her art prior to 1926. In Paris she thrived. Mixing with the Cubists and Surrealists, with whom she learned composition, form, and juxtaposition of colour. Returning to London in 1930, Agar created some of her most pivotal artworks, such as Three Symbols – a colossal painting that fused Greek antiquity, industrial modernity, to the feminist statement of the ‘three patriarchal pillars’ – Angel of Anarchy, and The Autobiography of an Embryo. Always experimenting in the most bizarre and wonderful of ways, obsessing over found objects which she fused together to create a whole new dialogue and language, Agar was always inherently surreal without even meaning to be. In the 30s she garnered huge critical success and was included in the monumental Surrealist exhibitions around the world. However, with the imminence and outbreak of war. Everything changed. I LOVED interviewing Laura for this episode, who has curated Eileen’s work in numerous exhibitions including the staggering, Virginia Woolf: An Exhibition Inspired by Her Writings. Listen now to discover the eccentric life of one of the greatest – and sometimes overlooked – artist who deserved every recognition possible! Thank you for listening!! Works discussed in this episode: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/agar-three-symbols-t00707 https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/agar-the-autobiography-of-an-embryo-t05024 https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/agar-angel-of-anarchy-t03809 https://www.wikiart.org/en/eileen-agar/ladybird-1936 https://www.tate.org.uk/art/archive/items/tga-8927-8-12/agar-photograph-of-lee-miller-and-roland-penrose-on-the-beach This episode is sponsored by the National Art Pass and the Affordable Art Fair! @artfund: https://www.artfund.org/katy-hessel To receive a free tote bag with your National Art Pass, enter the code GREAT at checkout! @affordableartfairuk: https://affordableartfair.com/ Follow us: Katy Hessel: @thegreatwomenartists / @katy.hessel Sound editing by Amber Miller (@amber_m.iller) Artwork by @thisisaliceskinner Music by Ben Wetherfield https://www.thegreatwomenartists.com/

In Episode 20 of The Great Women Artists Podcast, Katy Hessel interviews the INCREDIBLE, internationally-acclaimed artist, Shirin Neshat.  Born in 1957 in a small city in Iran, Neshat was 17 when she was sent to the United States to complete her education – first at a school in Southern California and then to Berkeley for her university education. However, due to the Islamic Revolution in 1979, she was prevented from returning to her country for close to 20 years, and although she studied art in college, it wasn’t until 1993 that she began to make art again.  Known for her work in photography, film and video that delve into issues of gender, identity and politics in Muslim countries, Neshat focuses on the relationship bewteen the personal and the political in past and present.  Her personal experiences as a Muslim woman in exile have particuarly informed her practice, and it is through the the medium of photography, film and video that she explores political structures that have shaped the history of Iran. Having just been the subject of a major survey exhibition spanning 25 years worth of work at LA’s The Broad, Shirin has exhibited at museums internationally, including the Serpentine Gallery here in London, the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington DC, as well as a major retrospective at the Detroit Institute of Arts in 2013, and many more. https://www.thebroad.org/shirinneshat In 1999, Neshat was awarded the Golden Lion Award, the First International Prize at the 48th Venice Biennale, and in 2009, directed her first feature-length film, Women Without Men, which received the Silver Lion Award for “Best Director” at the 66th Venice International Film Festival. For those in London, an exhibition by Shirin Neshat, Titled “Land of Dreams”, which includes the UK premiere of her most recent body of work, is currently on view at Goodman Gallery (until 28 March). http://www.goodman-gallery.com/exhibitions/1081 Thank you for listening!! This episode is sponsored by the National Art Pass and the Affordable Art Fair! @artfund: https://www.artfund.org/katy-hesselTo receive a free tote bag with your National Art Pass, enter the code GREAT at checkout!  @affordableartfairuk: https://affordableartfair.com/ Follow us: Katy Hessel: @thegreatwomenartists / @katy.hessel Sound editing by Amber Miller (@amber_m.iller) Artwork by @thisisaliceskinner Music by Ben Wetherfield https://www.thegreatwomenartists.com/

In Episode 19 of The Great Women Artists Podcast, Katy Hessel interviews one of the most important painters in the world, CHANTAL JOFFE on the great artist CHARLOTTE SALOMON!   And WOW was it amazing to interview Chantal in her London studio on Charlotte Salomon, the Jewish-born German artist who created one of the most important and powerful artworks of the 20th century, "Life? or Theatre?", which is currently on view at the Jewish Museum here in London: https://jewishmuseum.org.uk/exhibitions/charlotte-salomon/ Created between the years of 1941–43 when the young Salomon was living in Nice having escaped Berlin, "Life? or Theatre?" is a dramatised autobiography that uses sound, text, simple language, images, and music to give expression of Salomon’s struggle living in Berlin in the 1930s, and her experience during the war. It is the MOST moving, incredible, heartbreaking 'graphic novel' compiled of 769 small gouaches on paper which Salomon created when in hiding from Nazi oppressors.  The work is essentially a self portrait; storyboard; or intimate visual narrative of the artist’s existence: from a complicated family life, growing up in Berlin, the rise of the Nazis, to her exile to France, and to what ultimately led to her impending fate: age 26, five months pregnant, in Auschwitz. This challenging masterpiece tells the story of her life, with death looming from the start. In pre-first world war Berlin, a young woman called Charlotte – the artist’s aunt who she’s named after – drowns herself, and as the story unfolds, we discover many more mental health issues and sadness in the artist’s family. But Charlotte carries on, as if always seeing the positive in this ever glooming light which seems madness to even be seen as real life, as emphasised by its title.  Chantal speaks so beautifully in this episode, enlightening us about Charlotte and her experience visiting this week. Placing a particular emphasis on the redemptive power of art. When I asked Chantal why she thought the young Salomon created "Life? or Theatre?", she responded: "She just had no choice and the minute she's picked up, brush, she was safe. Suddenly it saved her and that's why we see such speed is in those drawings". Thank you for listening!! This episode is sponsored by the National Art Pass and the Affordable Art Fair! @artfund: https://www.artfund.org/katy-hessel To receive a free tote bag with your National Art Pass, enter the code GREAT at checkout!  @affordableartfairuk: https://affordableartfair.com/ Follow us: Katy Hessel: @thegreatwomenartists / @katy.hessel Sound editing by Amber Miller (@amber_m.iller) Artwork by @thisisaliceskinner Music by Ben Wetherfield https://www.thegreatwomenartists.com/

In Episode 18 of The Great Women Artists Podcast, Katy Hessel interviews the world-renowned Irish artist, GENIEVE FIGGIS!! And WOW was it amazing to interview Genieve, whose vibrant, loosely rendered, liquid-like works that reimagine classical scenes I have been SUCH a fan of since her inaugural London exhibition at Almine Rech back in 2015! Working in oil and acrylic and at small- to mid-scale, Genieve Figgis produces paintings rich in color, texture, and humor. Striking the balance between figuration, her marble-style and liquid-like paintings are reminiscent of the 18th century Rococo style.   Born in Dublin and now based in County Wicklow, Figgis was always interested in art, however it wasn’t until she was in her thirties with two small children, that she completed her art education in 2012. Exhibiting across Dublin galleries, it wasn’t until Figgis used Twitter to display her artwork in 2014, which caught the attention of one artist in particular – Richard Prince – who introduced Figgis to the New York art scene. Often reimagining and re-staging historical works – from Boucher, Fragonard, and Watteau – Figgis is particularly interested in scenes that feature sumptuous domestic interiors and stately country homes. It was such an honour to get to know and interview Genieve. We chat about everything from her strict Irish Catholic upbringing, what it was like entering a museum for the first time aged 19, going to art school later on in life, her ideas and interests behind her incredible painterly scenes, to her process and being an artist today.  See more of Genieve's work here:  https://www.genievefiggis.com/ Thank you for listening!! This episode is sponsored by the National Art Pass and the Affordable Art Fair! @artfund: https://www.artfund.org/katy-hessel To receive a free tote bag with your National Art Pass, enter the code GREAT at checkout!  @affordableartfairuk: https://affordableartfair.com/ Follow us: Katy Hessel: @thegreatwomenartists / @katy.hessel Sound editing by Amber Miller (@amber_m.iller) Artwork by @thisisaliceskinner Music by Ben Wetherfield https://www.thegreatwomenartists.com/

In Episode 17 of The Great Women Artists Podcast, Katy Hessel interviews one of the most exciting young artists working in the world right now, JADÉ FADOJUTIMI !! And WOW was it amazing to record at Jadé's South London studio surrounded by her monumental works. She is SO brilliant and not only did we have so much fun recording this episode, but it is such a great insight to her work and also an honest experience being an artist. Working in painting and drawing, Jadé is known for her large-scale, vibrant and complex emotional landscapes that offer an insight into the artist’s quest for identity. Made up of loose, expressive and translucent brushstrokes, when witnessed in the flesh, the energy and conviction in her medium is completely infectious.  A fairly recent graduate of The Slade School of Art, where she completed her BA, and the Royal College of Art, where she completed her MA in 2017, the London born and bred Jadé has since gone on to exhibit widely across the world, including shows at Pippy Houldsworth, PEER, and more! Despite only being 26, Jadé has received high critical acclaim for her paintings, and this summer, will be included in the upcoming Liverpool Biennial as well as having a solo exhibition in Japan. Speaking about her work, she has said ‘painting is like looking into a windowpane and seeing the reflection of her self, the context in which she lives, and the distorted fusion of the two’.   See more of Jadé's works here:  http://jadefadojutimi.com/ Thank you for listening!! This episode is sponsored by the National Art Pass and the Affordable Art Fair! @artfund: https://www.artfund.org/katy-hessel To receive a free tote bag with your National Art Pass, enter the code GREAT at checkout!  @affordableartfairuk: https://affordableartfair.com/ Follow us: Katy Hessel: @thegreatwomenartists / @katy.hessel Sound editing by @_ellieclifford Artwork by @thisisaliceskinner Music by Ben Wetherfield https://www.thegreatwomenartists.com/