JOAN SNYDER

Minimalist abstraction of the 1960s and early 1970s was cool, objective, and male-centered, leaving many female abstract artists like Joan Snyder unsatisfied. Minimalism’s emphasis on a painting’s surface, structure, and form was a catalyst for Snyder’s own version of this style, one infused with expression and narrative. Drawing upon Minimalist principles of the grid, Snyder developed an anatomy to “get at the inside of a painting” to tell stories filled with emotion, expression, and her connection with others. Snyder also incorporated collage in her paintings, placing materials like fabric and flower petals onto the canvas. In doing so, she expanded the potential of a painting’s surface, as well as asserted and affirmed the value of these materials, so often associated with women in artistic production and history. 

In Roxy Red Fugue, shades of warm reds and bubble-gum pink squares emerge from Snyder’s underlying grid onto the surface of the painting, each layer stacked upon the other. Paint drips, pieces of cloth, rosebuds, and glitter connect the pink and red squares together, yet each square remains distinct. Like an altar, Snyder places these materials carefully onto the surface of the canvas, investing it with the personal visual story she creates.