Ida Applebroog’s Monalisa at Hauser & Wirth Gallery

By: Eliana Hidalgo Vilaseca

 

 

 

Ida Applebroog, Monalisa,  2009, gampi, mylar, ink, pigment, oil, watercolor and Wood,
279.4 x 365.8 x 372.1 cm / 110 x 144 x 146 1/2 in. Photo by Thomas Mueller

Hauser & Wirth Gallery presents to the public Bronx-born Ida Applebroog’s (b. 1929) original vaginal line contour drawings along with an entirely new body of work called Monalisa. Applebroog’s recent work is a house-like structure, in which alterations of the original self-explorative drawings are used to create translucent walls. By enlarging, digitally altering and occasionally adding washes of pale pink, grey and yellow, the 1969 line studies are reborn.

As a woman, I found Ida’s work intimidating but welcoming. Works that were once created while she studied herself in her bathtub, which she called her “little sanctuary,” now stand in the middle of a gallery for everyone to see. Is this because in the last four decades society has gradually allowed women to more openly discuss their bodies? Or has there been a change in the artist’s life that now allows her to openly discuss her body? The works displayed are meant to communicate and/or start a strong dialogue about gender and sexual identity. For me, her work represents the evolution and liberation of the female sexuality. Women no longer feel hesitant to openly discuss their bodies and what they believe is their sexual identity. For some Applebroog’s work is liberating, while for others the structure symbolizes a protective environment for the female gender. Applebroog’s work suggests either the liberation of the female sexuality or reinforces the continuity of its protectiveness. Without a doubt the perceived beauty of this piece depends on the viewer’s point of view.

While this exhibition creates fascinating and even controversial dialogues, I believe that the aesthetics of each rendering is what makes the exhibition worth a visit. Each drawing elegantly displays the artist’s understanding of line, form and color. Even though they are all studies of the same area, they are all different. While some are intricate representations, others are simple, but wonderfully rendered line suggestions. I strongly believe that the beauty of her work lies in her ability to interpret or portray the same bodily feature differently each time. Applebroog’s gentle aesthetic representation of a polemical subject makes her new body of work successful and therefore worth a visit. 

 

Ida Applebroog: “Monalisa’” at Hauser & Wirth runs through March 6^th

 

Hauser & Wirth Gallery

32 East 69^th Street

Take the F train to 63^d Street and Lexington Avenue or 6 train to 68^th street and Lexington Avenue

Gallery hours: Tues-Sat, 10-6

Gallery website: www.hauserwirth.com

 

See the PBS documentary of Applebroog:

www.pbs.org/art21/artists/applebroog/index.html

 

Comments

[Leigh Ann]

wonderful review; am inspired to become acquainted with the artist. It seems as though Applebroog is indeed attempting to push the boundaries in regards to the social acceptability of female sexual identity.

[Katie]

Thanks for posting this review. Experiencing Applebroog's art seems at once intimidating and intimate. My favorite part is the bathtub - it makes her and her work seem more human.

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