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The art world, long dominated by men, has often been built on the unacknowledged labor, creativity, and resilience of women. "Built on the Backs of Women," opening May 16, examines the systemic erasure of women’s contributions while celebrating their enduring impact on art history and culture. Curated by Kelly Cahn, the exhibition focuses on female artists whose groundbreaking ideas and practices were appropriated by male counterparts who gained widespread recognition for innovations that were not theirs to claim.
SF/Arts Curator Insight
New York art advisor Kelly Cahn curates a show aimed at restoring to art history a handful of women written out of a male-dominated narrative that dismissed their pioneering influences and contributions. The collection provides the opportunity to view Janet Sobel's paint drips alongside Vivian Springford's stain paintings, Bay Area AbEx artist Bernice Bing's influential output, and Lynne Drexler's swirling color fields, while wondering why it remains necessary to shove women out of the spotlight. What are men afraid of?
Mark Taylor
SF/Arts Curator
COL Gallery
COL Gallery is a project-based, contemporary gallery founded in 2023 by Callie Jones and Julia Li in Ghirardelli Square, San Francisco, a bayside landmark since 1862, a Lawrence Halprin-designed community space, and home of Ruth Asawa's first public work. COL is named in honor of the late sculptor Richard Nonas.
COL Gallery is a project-based, contemporary gallery founded in 2023 by Callie Jones and Julia Li in Ghirardelli Square, San Francisco, a bayside landmark since 1862, a Lawrence Halprin-designed community space, and home of Ruth Asawa's first public work. COL is named in honor of the late sculptor Richard Nonas.