On View
Not on viewObject number1967/8.7
#5907
Artist
Fayga Ostrower
(Brazilian, 1920-2001)
Date1959
Mediumetching
Dimensionsmat: 20 × 24 in. (50.8 × 61 cm)
sheet: 14 7/8 × 21 1/8 in. (37.8 × 53.7 cm)
image: 12 13/16 × 19 9/16 in. (32.5 × 49.7 cm)
sheet: 14 7/8 × 21 1/8 in. (37.8 × 53.7 cm)
image: 12 13/16 × 19 9/16 in. (32.5 × 49.7 cm)
Credit LineDirector's Fund
Exhibition History"Africa, Imagined: Reflections on Modern and Contemporary Art," KIA Gallerys 3 & 4 (January 22 - May 1, 2022).
"Art, Music & Feminism in the 1950s," KIA Galleries 3 & 4 (January 21 - May 7, 2023).Label TextWhen the KIA acquired this print in 1967, Ostrower was considered to be a leading contemporary printmaker. In 1958, the year before she created #5907, she became internationally recognized when she was awarded a major prize at the Venice Biennale.
Ostrower was born in Poland to a Jewish family that relocated to Germany in 1921 and then emigrated to Brazil through Belgium in 1934. She was well on her way to a rich career as an artist and teacher in Brazil when she traveled to New York in 1955 on a Fulbright Scholarship to train at Atelier 17, in the last year before this renowned European printmaking workshop returned to Paris after its World War II hiatus in the United States. Atelier 17 exposed her to the most advanced techniques and trends of the time, which she adopted with vigor to produce works such as #5907.
Many of Ostrower’s works illustrate social issues, depicting women washing clothes, children from the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, and other scenes portraying the life of the poor. However, in the 1950s, the artist abandoned the depiction of figures and began creating abstract works in a style resembling that of German Expressionism. This aroused criticism stemming from the artistic and cultural beliefs of that era. However, Ostrower persisted, continuing to be introspective, in search of her own rhythm and moral pathway. [Label for "Art, Music & Feminism in the 1950s”, 2023]
