Bowman Sculpture and Guerin Projects are proud to present ‘The Power of She: A Tribute to Women in the Arts exhibition, which showcases the works of 15 female artists from the 18th century to the present day.
This exhibition is a powerful celebration of female creativity, exploring the silent history of female artists, women’s current role in society, and humanity’s relationship with nature and the human condition.
Curators Marie-Claudine Llamas and Mica Bowman have passionately curated this group exhibition at Bowman Sculpture’s prestigious gallery space in St James’s, London from 5th May to 16th June 2023.
Featured Artists
The exhibition features an impressive roster of female artists, including Joanna Allen, Pauline Amos, Hanneke Beaumont, Helaine Blumenfeld, Camille Claudel, Mollie Faustman, Else Fischer-Hansen, Dame Elisabeth Frink, Dame Barbara Hepworth, Sarah Hoadly, Lily Lewis, Carla Prina, Germaine Richier, Jessica St James and Emily Young.
A Tribute to Women in the Arts
This exhibition celebrates the power of female creativity and brings together a diverse selection of artworks across different mediums, showcasing sculpture, painting, drawing, poetry and performative arts.
The exhibition’s venue, Bowman Sculpture, is a prestigious gallery that specialises in sculpture from 1860 to the present day and is the foremost gallery in the world for sculpture by Auguste Rodin. The exhibition features work by leading contemporary artists such as Emily Young, Lily Lewis and Pauline Amos, juxtaposed with some of the most exciting 19th-century and modern sculptors including Camille Claudel, Elizabeth Frink and Barbara Hepworth.
Ground-Breaking Curatorial Initiative
‘The Power of She’ is a ground-breaking curatorial initiative from the accomplished women curators Marie-Claudine Llamas and Mica Bowman. The exhibition is designed to encourage a dialogue between the historical and the contemporary in a frank and thought-provoking manner. The curation of the exhibition will offer the viewer a diverse view of the subject matter across media forms.
Opening Night
The exhibition opened on Thursday 4th May with a private view attended by some of the most influential personalities in the art world, including curators Marie-Claudine Llamas and Mica Bowman, Robert Bowman, Brix Smith, Mika Simmons, Basia Briggs, Meredith Ostrom, Friederike Krum, Stuart Watts, Natalia Cassel, Damian Dibben, Jorrel, Jasper Greig, Tara Duross, Gaza Mayall and Ruby Simone Flashman, Antony Micallef, Jasper Jopling, Hettie Wakefield, and Tiger Savage.
The private view was sponsored by Pink Diesel, a sustainably harvested rosé wine from Provence founded by Amy Gatehouse and Marina Ayton. Sound Women Founder Sarah HB DJ’d at the event.
The Power of She Performance Programme
In addition to the exhibition, the 6-week program will include a performance by Natascha Mair, Prima Ballerina of the English National Ballet, female musicians and DJ’s, and talks from several artists involved, including Emily Young, described by the Financial Times as “Britain’s greatest living stone sculptor”.
The exhibition will also feature a special talk from New York gallerist Hong Gyu Shin, who rediscovered two 20th-century female artists – Carla Prina (1950s) and Else-Fischer-Hansen (1960s) and brought them into museum collections.
The Power of She’s Message
Mica Bowman says, “The overarching theme that ties everything together in this show is about women’s voices: those women from earlier centuries or even decades whose voices may not have been heard or appreciated during their own lifetimes, and those of the living artists we are working with who do have a voice. While progress has been made, especially in recent years, it is important to continue to address the subject of inequality and to remember the women that came before us.”
Marie-Claudine Llamas explains, “With ‘The Power of She’ we are addressing the representation of womanhood by women through the centuries. The exhibition will describe the different states, chapters and aspects which a woman goes through during the course of her life. This exhibition is about generosity of curation, it is highly expansive and introspective, offering the viewer a diverse view of the subject matter across media forms, including sculpture, painting, drawing, poetry and performative arts.”
‘FACES’ by Lily Lewis
One of the highlights of the exhibition is the ‘FACES’ series by Lily Lewis. The faces in this series are all secondary characters in major literary works, their positions in the plot are crucial but overshadowed by the ‘heroes’.
Lewis plays with the concept of the ‘ideal’ as an un-fixable point, and questions of agency and “main character energy” within the narrative structures inherited and upheld through history and literature. These overlooked characters were at best secondary and at worst toxic tokenistic extended adjectives, lending colour to plot and prose.
These faces seem almost ghostlike, haunting, within the context of reimagined classical landscapes, painted with brushstrokes like the weave of binary in both physical textiles and the woven web of our computerised experience.
‘The Skies Daughter’ by Emily Young
Another stunning exhibit in ‘The Power of She’ is ‘The Skies Daughter’ by Emily Young. This sculpture is carved from a piece of Lapis Lazuli, mined in a high mountainous region of North Eastern Afghanistan.
The working conditions there are extremely harsh, but the work in the mines provides some income for local people. Lapis has been mined there for at least 8,000, possibly 9,000 years. As Pliny, the Elder said of it, “The starry heavens above, Lapis below.”
It was and is one of the most treasured and beautiful stones on Earth. Young’s work is inspired by the beauty of the natural world and the skies. Also, the fact that stone can endure for billions of years – out of the past and into the future. Young touches it now, making marks that carry something of human consciousness into that future.
‘Fecund Fertile Fruitful Me’ by Pauline Amos
The work of Pauline Amos, which is visceral, disturbing, and purposefully provocative, is also on display at ‘The Power of She’. Amos’s paintings are heavy with her own history and narrative, interpreting and recording the world she experiences as a woman in paint.
The work is a document and a record of an action or a time in life that has happened. ‘Fecund Fertile Fruitful Me’ (1 & 2) paintings show Amos’s frustration and, more than that, a quiet desperation.
Conclusion
‘The Power of She: A Tribute to Women in the Arts’ is an exhibition that honours and celebrates the contribution of female artists throughout history. It offers a thought-provoking and diverse view of the subject matter across media forms.
This ground-breaking curatorial initiative from a duo of accomplished women curators provides a platform for female creativity and puts women artists front and centre.
With the exhibition running from 5th May to 16th June 2023 at Bowman Sculpture’s iconic gallery space in the heart of St James’s, London, ‘The Power of She’ promises to shake up the male-dominated art world.
The private view held on 4th May was attended by various curators, artists, and influential people in the art industry. Pink Diesel, a sustainably harvested rosé wine from Provence, sponsored the event. Sound Women Founder Sarah HB DJ’d at the event.
In addition to the works of art, ‘The Power of She’ will also include a 6-week program with a performance by Natascha Mair, Prima Ballerina of the English National Ballet, female musicians and DJ’s, and talks from several artists involved, including Emily Young.
A special talk from New York gallerist Hong Gyu Shin, who rediscovered two 20th-century female artists – Carla Prina (1950s) and Else-Fischer-Hansen (1960s) and brought them into museum collections will also be featured.
‘The Power of She’ is an exhibition that brings together female artists from different periods and explores a multitude of themes from the silent history of female artists to humanity’s relationship with nature and the human condition.
The exhibition encourages a dialogue between the historical and the contemporary, providing a diverse view of the subject matter across media forms, including sculpture, painting, drawing, poetry and performative arts.
In conclusion, ‘The Power of She: A Tribute to Women in the Arts’ is an exhibition that celebrates the contribution of female artists throughout history. It provides a platform for female creativity, putting women artists front and centre. With a 6-week program that includes performances, talks, and discussions, the exhibition promises to be a thought-provoking and engaging experience for all.
Don’t miss this opportunity to view some of the most important 18th and 19th century, Modern and Contemporary women artists at Bowman Sculpture’s iconic gallery space in the heart of St James’s, London, from 5th May to 16th June 2023.