There is a current focus on the rediscovery of women Abstract Expressionist artists who have been relegated to semi-obscurity, along with great attention given to elevating the importance of more established figures who played integral roles in the dynamics of the era.  re.e.mer.gence presents a selection of lesser-known figures of the period alongside more established artists of the canon, and challenges the viewer to ask the questions, "WHO is this artist and WHY have I never heard of her".

Overshadowed by their male counterparts of the Post-War period, there is an ongoing unearthing of artists who were oftentimes widely exhibited and highly talented but who have been overlooked by the reductive narrative. Gradually, these artists are shifting into the light, capturing the attention of collectors, curators, museums, and gallerists.  It's perplexing how some of these artists can have so little renown once you see the strength and individuality of their work.  There is a rhythm of rediscovery in a climate hungry to re-establish these artists.

In the current show, aptly titled re.e.mer.gence, Jody Klotz Fine Art focuses on three impactful women from the Abstract Expressionist and Color Field movements in addition to 12 other relevant artists. Lynne Mapp Drexler’s work, seemingly hiding in plain sight for years, has buoyed to the surface with an intensely growing appreciation of the artist’s oeuvre. Fed up with the New York art scene, she painted in obscurity on Monhegan Island, Maine for the last 20 years of her career. Presently her work is the subject of major gallery shows, is being incorporated into significant collections, and is seeing an astronomical increase in value into the 7 figures.  Her painting weaves stunning color with extraordinary painterly gestures to create a visual cacophony on her canvases. Alice Baber’s favor is on the cusp of emerging, with her diaphanous, floating forms, and studies of light and color.  Buffie Johnson was an integral part of the story of the New York art scene in the 1950s. She was included in Peggy Guggenheim's notorious Exhibition of 31 Women of 1943., and exhibited alongside some of the pantheon of the AbEx movement such as Jackson Pollock, Lee Krasner, Hans Hofmann, Mark Rothko, and Robert Motherwell.  In 1959 she completed a large-scale mural for the Astor Theatre in New York City, which at the time was the largest abstract mural in the world. Her work combines color and line into evocative compositions.   Additional works in the show by influential and well-known figures Elaine de Kooning, Grace Hartigan, Betty Parsons, Ethel Schwabacher and Mary Abbott are featured alongside works by Vivian Springford, Emily Mason, Janice Biala, Helen DeMott and Judith Rothschild, all of whom merit further attention and scholarship in the development of the story of AbEx and Color Field painting.

 Interconnectedness between artists, gallerists, writers, musicians, dancers, bohemia and the avant-garde is a hallmark of this era.  And these lesser-known artists all have fascinating relationships connecting them to "the scene."  These stories are emerging, and many are yet to be unearthed.  This exhibition displays the talent of these women AbEx and Color Field artists and draws attention to the role that they played.

 The show is accompanied by an 84 page catalog featuring an essay by esteemed artist, writer, and educator Colette Copeland. The opening reception is Thursday, March 23^rd from 5:30-7:30 and will include a Gallery Talk by art historian Tiffany Floyd from the University of North Texas. 

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