For just two more weeks, 450 original artworks—addressing gender inequality in the art world—by artists from around the globe are on view in Micol Hebron’s exhibition “(en)Gendered (in)Equity: The Gallery Tally Poster Project,” at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (LACE). The show closes April 17, 2016. LACE is located at 6522 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028.
Artists from Europe, China, Japan, South America, Canada, the US, Israel, Scandinavia, and Iran have created striking artworks measuring 24 x 36 inches. Among them is local artist, activist and writer Carolyn Campbell, who has four pieces included in the exhibition. Her work has also been part of the show’s traveling itinerary, which included galleries in Chicago, Puerto Rico and Santiago, Chile.
L-R: Carolyn Campbell (photo by Kristine Schomaker) and Micol Hebron (by Carolyn Campbell) at Gallery Tally
A West Hollywood resident for more than 30 years, Campbell recently stated, “As part of Micol Hebron’s collaborative Gallery Tally exhibition, I was invited to create works illustrating the ratio of male to female artists in four galleries: two in New York and two in Paris. I was thrilled to incorporate subjects I am passionate about including social justice, culture, art and architecture.”
She adds, “As a person who spent a good part of her career working with, usually, male artists, I was excited to be part of a show that speaks to gender parity. It afforded me the opportunity to examine how, when I was promoting women artists was I able to successfully increase their visibility in the marketplace, face any challenges, and how it affected my own creative expression.”
Campbell states that the Gallery Tally show casts a light on how far we still need to go. In creating her posters, she chose Marlborough Chelsea, a satellite of the Marlborough Gallery, one of the world’s leading artist reps. “Not surprisingly,” she says, “the Chelsea branch ranked among the most egregious examples of New York galleries when it came to gender inequity at 93% male and 7% female. Kerry Schuss Art, at 73% male and 27% female, was not as bad, though not great. The galleries in Paris reflected the same imbalance: Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac with 86% men and 14% women, and Galerie Hussenot with 74% men and 26% women.”
The four female figures in Campbell’s works—photos of 19th century sculptures from Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris—appear overwhelmed with exasperation in response to the tally for these dealers. Campbell has been writing about and photographing Père Lachaise for more than 20 years. The tombs mark the final resting places of some of the world’s most beloved artists, including Eugène Delacroix, Rosa Bonheur, Marie Laurencin and Amedeo Modigliani.
“The female figure in funerary iconography is traditionally linked to the Seven Virtues: Faith, Hope, Charity, Temperance, Prudence, Fortitude and Justice,” says Campbell. The images that I chose for the exhibition are powerful examples of how women embody some of the deepest qualities of the human condition.”
Images at top: “Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac” © Carolyn Campbell; R) “Kerry Schuss Art” © Carolyn Campbell
