Since 1987, the United States has formally recognized March as National Women’s History Month. It’s a time to celebrate the ways all women wield their strength, talents, intellect, heart, and determination for positive change in the world.
Each year, the National Women’s History Alliance designates a yearly theme for Women’s History Month. This year, the 2022 theme is “Women Providing Healing, Promoting Hope.”
This theme spoke to us at the Arlington Museum of Art. We believe that one of the incredible things about art is its inherent ability to communicate truth through personal experiences. The global impact of women “providing healing, promoting hope” begins with that same kind of honest communication—speaking the truth—about things that matter.
In the last year alone, the Arlington Museum of Art has hosted five powerful exhibitions that have featured works by a total of 34 women: 30 Americans, Street Encounters, Quaintrelle, Creative Courage, and Vivian Maier: The Color Works. These incredibly talented artists include modern masters, emerging talent, unsung heroines, and brilliant craftswomen.
We want you to know these artists and become as inspired as we are by their work! Here are just three of female artists who have recently exhibited at the Arlington Museum of Art. We truly believe they are women who “provide healing and promote hope” through their artistic voices, and we invite you to experience that healing and hope, too.
Mickalene Thomas
Popularly known for creating the first individual portrait of First Lady Michelle Obama, Mickalene Thomas is inspired by art history as well as popular culture. Her works allude to sources ranging from 19th-century French painting to 1970s Blaxploitation films, and her acknowledged influences range from Edouard Manet and Henri Matisse to Romare Bearden and Pam Grier. Thomas bases her paintings on her own photographs, which she reproduces in rhinestones, collage, acrylic paint, and enamel. Her African American protagonists sometimes mimic poses from Western painting tradition, especially those of white female nudes, but they do so while exuding sexuality and lounging in fantastically-patterned interiors. Sources: ArtNet and the National Museum of Women in the Arts
Eugenia Pardue
Eugenia Pardue breaks the plane of two-dimensions by sculpting on canvas. She uses an abundance of meticulously hand-fashioned paint to create unapologetically feminine pieces, full of romance and modern nostalgia. Her ethereal, white-on-white work is opulent and one-of-a-kind, luscious in form and subject. She describes her artistic vision and world as “filled with passion, curiosity and beauty.” Source: artist’s own website
Carrie Mae Weems
Working in photography and video, Carrie Mae Weems’ work confronts issues of racism, gender, politics, and identity, particularly those in African American communities. Weems is particularly interested in using the visual language of documentary photography, blending it with narrative fictional scenes to challenge her audience’s preconceptions and to force political and social change. Weems early Kitchen Table Series (1990) was a groundbreaking investigation of African American stereotypes. Source: Art21
About the Arlington Museum of Art
The Arlington Museum of Art is dedicated to championing creativity and providing access to art for the educational enrichment and cultural development of our community. arlingtonmuseum.org
