feminist art pioneer judy chicago shares 'herstory' in first europe retrospective at LUMA arles

LUMA Arles presents Judy Chicago’s first european retrospective

The first European retrospective exhibition of American feminist artist Judy Chicago is now on view at LUMA Arles in southern France. Titled Herstory, the show unfolds as an expanded version of the New Museum’s 2023 exhibition, and now presents the most comprehensive display of the artist’s work in Europe to date. Covering over 60 years of Chicago’s career, the exhibition features pieces from her early experiments to her latest iconic works, highlighting her unique feminist approach. ‘Many of Judy’s efforts are focused on softening reality or giving it a female touch,’ says Vassilis Oikonomopoulos, Director of Exhibitions and Programs at LUMA Arles in a preview attended by designboom. ‘She has consistently opened up spaces that were closed off to female artists. She is fearless and dedicated to her ideas. This is what makes Judy remarkable.’

The exhibition features a revival of Chicago’s early emblematic Feather Room as its centerpiece, while for the opening, the artist unveiled An Homage to Arles, her first Smoke Sculpture in Europe. The ephemeral artwork enveloped the Frank Gehry-designed tower of LUMA Arles in colorful smoke and fireworks (see more here).

Judy Chicago, Arles Lilies,2024. metal, color | image © Adagp, Paris, 2024 © Victor & Simon – Renata Pires

Judy Chicago: Herstory traces the iconic artist’s 60-year career

Judy Chicago, born in 1939 in Chicago, Illinois, is a pioneering figure in Feminist art from the 1970s, a movement that aimed to portray women’s lives, emphasize their roles as artists, and change how contemporary art was made and perceived. The renowned American artist studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and UCLA, shaping her unique style and feminist perspective. Throughout her 60-year career, she has used painting, sculpture, and performance art to explore themes like female identity, power, and social justice. Her work has been crucial in challenging the male-dominated art scene and inspiring generations of artists and activists. Perhaps her most famous is The Dinner Party, a large triangular table installation celebrating women’s history and achievements. Spanning around 14.5 meters (48 feet) on each side, it features place settings dedicated to notable women throughout history, with an additional 999 names inscribed on its base. Figures honored include the Primordial Goddess, Ishtar, Hatshepsut, Artemisia Gentileschi, and others. This installation has been praised as a feminist symbol while also drawing criticism for its controversial elements, such as female genital-shaped plates. Other notable art projects by Chicago include International Honor Quilt, Birth Project, Powerplay, and The Holocaust Project. 

The exhibition Judy Chicago: Herstory at LUMA Arles showcases Chicago’s diverse contributions across various media: painting, sculpture, installation, drawing, textiles, photography, stained glass, needlework, and printmaking. It traces her evolution from early Minimalism in the 1960s to groundbreaking Feminist Art in the 1970s and later series like the aforementioned Birth Project, and PowerPlay, as well as Resolutions: A Stitch in Time, and The End: A Meditation on Death and Extinction. These works expand her feminist agenda to address issues such as environmental destruction, genocide, social inequality, and mortality, demonstrating Chicago’s enduring impact across different art movements despite historical erasure.

Judy Chicago’s Smoke Sculpture enveloped the Frank Gehry-designed tower in colorful smoke | image © designboom

an ethereal feather room at LUMA Arles

The reinstallation of Judy Chicago’s Feather Room is the exhibition’s highlight, transforming the space into an ethereal environment filled with feathers, as its name implies. This soft and airy room evokes a sense of lightness and timelessness, offering a critical counterpoint to the traditional use of hard materials in male-dominated sculpture and architecture. Feather Room introduces a fluid, organic aesthetic that contrasts with the rigid, angular shapes of the minimalist sculptures Chicago had previously explored. Instead of sharp angles and orderly planes, the architectural lines are softened and blurred, creating an expansive effect accentuated by diffuse lighting. The installation’s immersive scale is significant, profoundly impacting visitors who find themselves enveloped in a cocoon of light and feathers.

the exhibition features a revival of Chicago’s early emblematic Feather Room | image © designboom

Also on view is the Birth Project, a collection of images for which Judy Chicago collaborated with over 150 needleworkers. These pieces merge painting and needlework to explore different facets of the birth process, from the painful to the mythical. While working on the Birth Project, Judy Chicago undertook PowerPlay, a series of works examining the gender construct of masculinity. In both modest and monumental drawings, paintings, weavings, cast paper pieces, and bronzes, she casts a critical eye at the negative ways in which men have exercised power and some of the consequences for both them and the world. Writing in Judy Chicago: An American Vision (the first monograph to appear on the artist), British art historian Edward Lucie-Smith states: ‘PowerPlay, begun in 1982, is an enterprise that overlapped with the Birth Project, but that could hardly be more different. In fact, almost the only thing the two series of images have in common is that they are both confrontational and deal with issues that have usually not made much of an appearance in Western art.’

The exhibition also includes Autobiography of a Year, a series of drawings developed in the 90s, when Judy Chicago went through a challenging personal period in her life. ‘She often describes moments of despair, disappointment, dissatisfaction, but also of happiness and joy,’ says Vassilis Oikonomopoulos. In the works, Hues of red, blue, yellow, and green blend together to compose dynamic forms. ‘Color plays a very big role in Judy’s practice, shaping the way she sees the world. But also, colors unify the way the world inside her grows, making it softer, more feminized, and transformative.’

The exhibition at LUMA Arles is on view until September 29th, 2024. The show coincides with the artist’s largest solo presentation in a London institution, on view at Serpentine North until September 1st, 2024 — find more here.

the Feather Room | image © designboom

Portrait of Judy Chicago, 2024 |image © Adagp, Paris, 2024 © Victor&Simon – Joana Luz

Portrait of Judy Chicago, 2024 | image © Adagp, Paris, 2024 © Victor&Simon – Joana Luz

Judy Chicago, Autobiography of a Year, 1993-1994. mixed media on paper, 140 drawings | image © Adagp, Paris, 2024 © Victor&Simon – Joana Luz

Judy Chicago, Herstory, 2024, Le Magasin Électrique, Parc des Ateliers, LUMA Arles, France | image © Adagp, Paris, 2024 © Victor&Simon – Joana Luz

Judy Chicago, Flesh Fan, Sky Flesh, Evening Fan, 1971 sprayed acrylic lacquer on acrylic sheet | image © Adagp, Paris, 2024 © Victor&Simon – Joana Luz

Judy Chicago, Herstory, 2024, Le Magasin Électrique, Parc des Ateliers, LUMA Arles, France | image © Adagp, Paris, 2024 © Victor & Simon – Renata Pires

Judy Chicago, Pasadena Lifesavers Red Series #2 et Pasadena Lifesavers Yellow Series #2, 1969–1970. sprayed acrylic lacquer on acrylic sheet | image © Adagp, Paris, 2024 © Victor & Simon – Renata Pires

Judy Chicago, What if Women ruled the World?, 2020 | image © designboom

Judy Chicago, What if Women ruled the World?, 2020. embroidery | image © Adagp, Paris, 2024 © Victor & Simon – Renata Pires

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Judy Chicago, Flight Hood, 1965-2011. sprayed automotive lacquer on car hood | | image © Adagp, Paris, 2024 © Victor&Simon - Joana Luz

Judy Chicago Through the Flower 2, 1973. sprayed acrylic on canvas 60 x 60 in © Adagp, Paris, 2024 Collection Diane Gelon. © Judy Chicago/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York | photo © Donald Woodman/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New Yor

Judy Chicago Evening Fan, 1971 sprayed acrylic lacquer on acrylic 60 x 120 in © Adagp, Paris, 2024 © Judy Chicago/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. collection Jay Franke and David Herro

Portrait of Judy Chicago, 2023. © Donald Woodman/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

project info: 

name: Judy Chicago: Herstory
artist: Judy Chicago | @judy.chicago
curator: Vassilis Oikonomopoulos
location: LUMA Arles | @luma_arles in Arles, France 
dates: June 30th – September 29th, 2024
organized in collaboration with: New Museum | @newmuseum