One of Robin F. William’s 2020 works, titled “Bechdel Yetis,” was created using oil, acrylic and Flashe on canvas. Collection of Sam & Shanit Schwartz. Courtesy of the artist and P.P.O.W, New York. Credit: Dario Lasagni
On Friday, the Columbus Museum of Art opened two exhibits that encapsulate past and present femininity.
Found in downtown Columbus, the museum will display “Marie Laurencin: Sapphic Paris” and “Robin F. Williams: We’ve Been Expecting You” until Aug. 18. The exhibitions boast 71 distinct pieces in total, featuring 38 works by French painter and printmaker Marie Laurencin as well as 33 pieces by contemporary painter Robin F. Williams.
Though Williams, who was born in 1984, is an active artist, Laurencin lived 1883-1956. Their respective exhibits depict womanhood nearly 100 years apart, said Lydia Simon, the museum’s director of marketing and communications.
“Having both of these exhibitions together is so impactful,” Simon said. “What I’m most excited about is that Robin is from Columbus and is now such a prominent figure in the contemporary art scene in America and also globally, and this is her first institutional exhibition. For her to have that opportunity at her hometown museum is really special.”
This presents the opportunity to see the similarities and differences that exist between Laurencin and Williams’s works, which Sarah Berenz, the museum’s Roy Lichtenstein curator, said should be viewed against their respective backdrops: Laurencin in Paris and Williams in modern-day America.
“There’s a real nice opportunity for some cross-generational dialogue,” Berenz said. “Each of them are female-identifying painters, painting other women and really thinking about women in their own time and how they move through the world and experience the world.”
The name of Laurencin’s exhibition — “Marie Laurencin: Sapphic Paris” — comes from the artist’s queer identity, as the museum’s director of collections Nicole Rome said Laurencin was in relationships with both men and women.
“It comes from the lesbian literary circles,” Rome said. “These were spaces [where] women could come together and share ideas in safe spaces. Many of them were bisexual or queer.”
Laurencin gradually rose to fame, especially in women’s social circles, and thus began receiving requests to create art for big figures in France, Rome said.
“Once Marie hit her stride and became well known, she would often be commissioned to paint portraits of prominent French women,” Rome said. “There was this culture of women supporting women during her time.”
When it comes to Williams, Berenz said the artist sometimes shares glimpses into her creative process online, a practice Berenz believes separates her from other artists.
One of Robin F. William’s 2023 works, titled “Prom Night Reckoning,” was created using oil and acrylic on canvas. Green Family Art Foundation; courtesy Adam Green Art Advisory. Courtesy of the artist; Morán Morán, Mexico City; and P.P.O.W, New York. Credit: JSP Art Photography
“She shares her techniques openly on TikTok and Instagram, and I think that’s really, really special,” Berenz said. “Sometimes artists can be a little guarded about the way they create their art and she is very much sharing these ideas and processes. That kind of giving nature is really significant.”
Laurencin’s work has been a personal inspiration for Rome, and she hopes that it inspires other women in the community to embrace their femininity. Many female artists from Laurencin’s time have been historically underappreciated in comparison to their male contemporaries, but Rome believes this is starting to change.
“I think that her work is really powerful, and the way that it speaks to female power is something that is really inspiring to us and something that we want to share with our visitors,” Rome said. “I think the museum world and the art world is sort of having this moment of reckoning right now, thinking about who has been overlooked and why those artists have been overlooked.”
Simon is excited to see both exhibitions come together and share the museum’s spotlight, even though both collections will also have their own separate showings. Likewise, she hopes visitors will not be geographically limited to the Columbus area.
“This is really exciting for us to offer these exhibitions to connect with Midwestern audiences,” Simon said. “I hope that this exhibition has a bit more of a regional reach where those within a few-hours drive would feel motivated to see this very historical show.”
The exhibitions are free for museum members, and more information about general admission and special exhibition admission prices can be found on the museum’s website. Additional details surrounding membership are available via the museum’s membership page.
