Paper, February 1994

Gallery Go ‘Round

For Hannah Wilke (1940-1993), the personal has always been the political. Her particular brand of feminist polemics was fired in the heady crucible of the hedonistic 60’s and the burgeoning feminism of the 70’s. Many artists have used their own bodies as subject matter, but Wilke’s confrontational work rises above the pack. Her distinctive voice, which tapped into the explosive feminist scene of the 70’s, has been validated by the likes of Janine Antoni and Sue Williams. Her use of materials- chewing gum, chocolate, erasers, latex and lint - and her radical, soft vulvular sculptures were both strikingly conceptual and powerfully erotic and emotional. “Gum is the perfect metaphor for the American woman- chew her up, get what you want out of her, throw her out and put in a new piece,” she once stated. Wilke was also very beautiful, and she used that beauty to critique the male gaze. This month, Ronald Feldman is presenting an exhibition of her last work, Intra-Venus, which documents her losing battle with lymphoma (she died last January at age 52) and exalts her courage. These harrowing color photographs confront the ravagement of cancer, and the dignity of her struggle to overcome it. Also on view are some beautiful watercolors, drawings and sculptures. (At Ronald Feldman, 31 Mercer St., through Feb. 19.) * V.P.

-VICTORIA PEDERSEN