Between the early 1950s and the early 1960s, Art Informel—or Informalism—became the dominant artistic movement in Europe. The works, which broke completely away from the classical principles of form and design, focused on an open-ended process of creation. At first glance, this abstract movement appears to have been shaped primarily by male artists. This exhibition, however, approaches Art Informel from a new perspective and pays tribute to sixteen of its leading female figures, including Maria Lassnig, Brigitte Meier-Denninghoff, Judit Reigl, Mary Bauermeister, Marie-Louise von Rogister, and Maria Helena Vieira da Silva. It will feature not only works by these renowned names but also by other women artists long forgotten and rediscovered. Drawing on questions of networks, exhibition participation, and reception from a sociological perspective on art, it will also explore the mechanisms of the art market.
The exhibition is a collaborative project organized by Hessen Kassel Heritage, Kunsthalle Schweinfurt, and the Emil Schumacher Museum in Hagen, in cooperation with the Research Center for Art Informel at the Institute of Art History, University of Bonn.