OPEN NOW

ARTPOWHER Contemporary is pleased to present the first in a series of group and solo exhibitions addressing questions about being a womxn in the 21st century. How do womxn feel and express themselves today - socially, sexually and politically? What distinguishes the work of womxn artists and is gender a major aspect that affects their artistic creation?

Gender roles are influenced by social beliefs and generalisations that have been accepted for centuries. Society observes womxn in different social roles and deduces characteristics that constitute gender stereotypes. MODERN WOMXN. You think You know Me, focuses on reframing the representation of the female figure in contemporary art. Realigning, examining or questioning the relationship of old-fashioned gender bias versus non traditional concepts, seeking an elevated language; sometimes feminine, unashamed, intimate, poetic, sometimes conceptual, disruptive or surreal. But always reclaiming ownership over the portrayal of a Modern Womxn. MODERN WOMXN. You think You know Me, brings together six womxn artists with different approaches and cultural experiences. Sola Olulode, April Marten, Gretchen Andrew, Laurel Johannesson, Annique Delphine and Madeline Bohrer. They all have a unique creative practice addressing their own social artistic position within their environment. The artistic approach may be different but all artists represent a contemporary sense and implication of a womxn’s individually shaped perspective, by expressing their own concept of a Modern Womxn in their artistic discipline, process or narrative.

WHY THE TERM MODERN?
In a more contemporary use, "modernity" often refers to the cluster of social, historical & cultural developments from the late 19th century to the late 1920s, the second industrial revolution, the emergence of consumer culture and the different art movements from symbolism, to futurism, to dada, to surrealism. This conception of modernity fuses the cultural and historical meaning of the term. Unlike earlier periods and movements, modernity and modernism were from the start insistently identified in terms of gender, and with "modern" we want to emphasise the term womxn. And yes, there are much more stories that need to be told, (cultural) aspects to be included. Let’s start by listening to the stories that want to be told by April Marten, Sola Olulode, Gretchen Andrew, Laurel Johannesson, Annique Delphine and Madeline Bohrer.

The term womxn is an alternative spelling of the English word woman. It is used to avoid perceived discrimination in the standard spelling and to explicitly include or foreground transgender and non-binary people.