Rochelle Feinstein: Image Of An Image Comes to Bronx Museum Of The Arts

The Bronx Museum of the Arts is proud to present Image of an Image, a new survey of the work of artist Rochelle Feinstein, a Bronx native, which will be on view November 7, 2018 through March 3, 2019. Deeply informed by abstraction, while also conveying a keen sensibility to and understanding of contemporary culture and our everyday use of language, Feinstein has spent four decades continually probing the relevance and possibilities of the abstract tradition in a culture constantly in flux.

Following a critically-acclaimed retrospective of the artist's work at the Centre d'Art Contemporain in Geneva, the Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus in Munich, and Kestnergesellschaft in Hannover, in which each venue presented a distinct version under different titles, the Bronx Museum's Image of an Image will be Feinstein's first comprehensive survey in the United States. On view will be 35 of Feinstein's paintings and drawings, spanning the last 25 years of her oeuvre.

Feinstein has used the lexicon of abstract painting to approach subjects of both personal and social import over that time, from the televised police pursuit of O.J. Simpson (El Bronco, 1994); to the Iraq War (Hotspots, 2003 - ongoing), and the Great Recession (The Estate of Rochelle F., 2010). As a professor of painting and printmaking at Yale University from 1994 to 2018, Feinstein played an important role in the development of the contemporary art scene through her engagement with and support for younger generations of artists whose works have been widely recognized.

On the occasion of the European retrospective, Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König published a 245-page monograph of the artist's work, introducing her oeuvre through more than 170 color reproductions (spanning 1989 to the present), an interview with Feinstein conducted by Kerstin Brätsch, and scholarly essays by curators Tenzing Barshee, Antonio Sergio Bessa, Lotte Dinse, Kerstin Stakemeier, Fabrice Stroun, Christina Végh, and Stephanie Weber. A new volume, featuring Feinstein's own writings, will be issued in conjunction with the Bronx Museum retrospective.

Curated by Bronx Museum Director of Curatorial Programs Antonio Sergio Bessa, Rochelle Feinstein: Image of an Image will provide the first opportunity for New York audiences to experience the full scope and audacity of this highly original artist.

Support: Rochelle Feinstein: Image of an Image was made possible by the generous support of Agnes Gund, Kathleen O'Grady and the O'Grady Foundation, Toby D. Lewis, S.J. Weiler Fund, and Alice Kosmin.

About Rochelle Feinstein Bronx-born Rochelle Feinstein's path towards becoming an artist included seven years of evening classes at the Fashion Institute of Technology. In 1973, Feinstein decided to concentrate on art full-time, enrolling at Pratt Institute in printmaking and painting (BFA, 1975), and the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis (MFA, 1978). In 1978-1980, Feinstein was selected as one of 325 choreographers, poets, musicians, and visual artists contracted by the renowned CETA Artists Project to work with hundreds of community sponsors in New York City's five boroughs. She joined the faculty of Bennington College from 1981-1993, and was a Professor of painting and printmaking at the Yale School of Art from 1994-2018 where she played a key role for younger generations of artists whose works have been widely recognized. In 2014, Feinstein was selected by the Bronx Museum to lead a series of workshops in Ghana for smARTpower, a program organized by the US State Department. Feinstein has been exhibiting her works in solo and group exhibitions in the US and Europe since 1978. She has lectured, given workshops, undertaken residencies, and written about the works of her contemporaries as a way of understanding what objects mean, how they can be understood, and by whom.

About Antonio Sergio Bessa As the director of curatorial programs at the Bronx Museum, Antonio Sergio Bessa has organized several exhibitions including Gordon Matta-Clark: Anarchitect (2017) with Jessamyn Fiore, Martin Wong: Human Instamatic (2015) with Yasmin Ramirez, Joan Semmel: The Lucid Eye (2013), and Paulo Bruscky: Art is our Last Hope (2013). A concrete poetry scholar, he is the author of Öyvind Fahlström: The Art of Writing (2008), and has also edited volumes including Novas: Selected Writings of Haroldo de Campos (2007), Mary Ellen Solt: Towards a Theory of Concrete Poetry (2010), and Paulo Bruscky: Viva Poesia / Poesia Viva (2015).

ABOUT THE BRONX MUSEUM OF THE ARTS The Bronx Museum of the Arts is an internationally recognized cultural destination that presents innovative contemporary art exhibitions and education programs and is committed to promoting cross-cultural dialogues for diverse audiences. Since its founding in 1971, the Museum has played a vital role in the Bronx by helping to make art accessible to the entire community and connecting with local schools, artists, teens, and families through its robust education initiatives. In celebration of its 40th anniversary, the Museum implemented a universal free admission policy, supporting its mission to make arts experiences available to all audiences. The Museum's collection comprises over 1,000 modern and contemporary artworks in all media and highlights works by artists of African, Asian, and Latin American ancestry, as well as artists for whom the Bronx has been critical to their development. Located on the Grand Concourse, the Museum's home is a distinctive contemporary landmark designed by the internationally recognized firm Arquitectonica.