This talk examines boundary-pushing paintings by Joan Semmel, currently on view at the Jewish Museum.  Now 93, Semmel has been painting female nudes in a deeply subversive manner for over fifty years. Her large-scale canvases depict women who are real, imperfect, and made for the female gaze. Indeed, many of the images are painted from the vantage point of a woman--usually Semmel--looking at her own body, either while lying in bed or in a mirror. Initially understood as feminist statements that pushed back against a patriarchal art world, they are now studied more broadly, as powerful images about what it means to be a woman with a changing body, physical desires, and a rich inner world.  

Led by Lauren Kaplan - Lauren holds a BA in History and Art History from Columbia University and a PhD in Art History from The Graduate Center, City University of New York (CUNY). Her academic research focuses on art and architecture of the early twentieth century, with a unique focus on cross-cultural exchange between Europe and Latin America.  Lauren has taught numerous courses at Hunter College, while also leading adult programs at the Museum of Modern Art and school programs at the Solomon R Guggenheim Museum. In 2013, she founded her own business, Kaplan Art Tours, offering private tours in museums and galleries throughout New York with the goal of making art accessible to a broad public.