This exhibition challenges traditional narratives of Modernism by showcasing the multivoiced, international, and often contradictory contributions of over sixty women*artists from diverse backgrounds. It features a wide range of media, including paintings, textile designs, sculptures, prints, drawings, photographs, and films.
The exhibition "Radical! Women*Artists and Modernism 1910–1950" reinterprets the Modernist era, moving beyond conventional, often male-dominated, art historical timelines. It brings together over sixty women*artists from more than twenty countries, presenting a wide array of artistic expressions including paintings, textile designs, sculptures, prints, drawings, photographs, and films. The artists, regardless of their origins or visual language, are united by their pursuit of new forms of expression and representation, and their determination to challenge artistic and social conventions. The exhibition emphasizes the individuality of each artist's approach, showcasing styles from abstract to figurative, and critical to activistic, highlighting their tenacity in forging their own paths despite resistance.
Classic art history often omits or minimizes the works of women, queer individuals, and people of color in Modernism. "Radical!" actively counters this by foregrounding these artists and their unique perspectives. The exhibition features prominent figures such as Gertrud Arndt, Benedetta, Romaine Brooks, Claude Cahun, Elizabeth Catlett, Sonia Delaunay, Inji Efflatoun, Alexandra Exter, Leonor Fini, Jacoba van Heemskerck van Beest, Hannah Höch, Erika Giovanna Klien, Katarzyna Kobro, Käthe Kollwitz, Lotte Laserstein, Tamara de Lempicka, Alice Lex-Nerlinger, Jeanne Mammen, Marlow Moss, Alice Neel, Gazbia Sirry, Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Charley Toorop, and Fahrelnissa Zeid, among many others. The term "women*artists" is used inclusively to encompass a range of gender identities, reflecting a contemporary understanding of artistic contribution.
