Masque, 1991
Joan Semmel included in Transitional Positions, a virtual group exhibition presented by Galerie St. Etienne, New York, NY.
Galerie St. Etienne's press release follows:
Eric Fischl conceived Transitional Positions shortly before New York went into lockdown for the coronavirus emergency. Given free rein with the Galerie St. Etienne’s inventory, he selected works by Austrian and German artists—such as Max Beckmann, Otto Dix, George Grosz, Gustav Klimt, Käthe Kollwitz and Egon Schiele—-who were responding to the radical upheavals of the early twentieth century. Next, Fischl selected a group of contemporary artists and asked each to pick one of the older works, pair it with one of their own, and comment on the connection. Ellen Berkenblit, Angela Dufresne, Nicole Eisenman, Tracey Emin, Sullivan Giles, Chantal Joffe, Gladys Nilsson, Jennifer Packer, Ellen Phelan, Jenny Saville and Joan Semmel accepted the challenge. Artists often perceive imminent change before the public at large. Our world has been in a state of socioeconomic upheaval for many years now. The COVID-19 crisis and the protest movement are neither the beginning nor the end of these transitions. Transitional Positions explores states of uncertainty: the uncomfortable yet bracing recognition that what once was accepted as given no longer exists.
Transitional Positions
July 7 – September 11, 2020
Galerie St. Etienne
New York, NY