Nancy Spero: Acts of Rebellion

Nancy Spero is one of the most intriguing artists of her generation. Her multifaceted oeuvre explores the existential questions of humankindùthe relations between the sexes, in particular, and the role of violence. For Spero, it was the human figureùand from 1974 onwards, exclusively depictions of womenùthat served as her most important means of expression. Resorting to images ranging from ancient Egyptian and pre-Columbian representations of women to modern images taken from fashion advertising, she places them into new semantic contexts. Isolated from their original surroundings, the motifs raise fundamental questions concerning women and the notion of femininity that lie at their heart.

SperoÆs works are unique in their formal appearance, combining collages, prints and paintings. Many consist of long bands of paper that the artist then covered with collages and scripts or prints with specifically produced printing platesùa redefinition of the concept of ancient murals or scrolls. Based on significa