Photo By Gail

This intricately pattern painting, Blue Burst Fan (1979), playfully brings together the traditions of decorative and fine arts. Miriam Shapiro (1923 – 2015) cultivated this approach as a key figure of the Pattern and Decoration movement, drawing on myriad textiles ranging from those related to her Russian Jewish heritage to Japanese Kimonos.

The artist executed this work in the shape of a fan – a typically feminine accessory – its rounded form rejecting the traditionally rectangular frame of a painting. Embracing the colors and patterns of global textile practices, she creates her own form of abstraction. Shapiro rebuked the restrained monochromatic works made by successful male artists at the time, connecting back to her lived experience as a woman artist.

Photographed in the Jewish Museum in Manhattan.