By Chadd Scott
[Excerpt]
Acquavella Galleries (18 East 79th Street) presents “Eva Hesse/Hannah Wilke: Erotic Abstraction,” the first exhibition to present these two pioneering artists side by side. The show features 23 works made between 1965 and 1977, including foundational works in the history of post-Minimalist and feminist art.
Living in New York in the 1960s, Hesse and Wilke seemed at times to be working on parallel, if not entirely synchronized, tracks. Both turned to sculpture in the mid-1960s, and both became renowned for their experiments with form and materials. Central to this pursuit for both was the embrace of materials not widely used in sculpture in the 1960s, such as fiberglass and liquid latex. “Erotic Abstraction” features groundbreaking works from each artist in this highly expressive medium, as well as hybrid relief paintings and experimental works on paper.
