Judy Chicago's Early LA Work Revealed at Villa Arson

Villa Arson in Nice presents 'Judy Chicago. Los Angeles, les années cool' from July 1 to November 4, 2018. The hybrid exhibition combines a monographic focus on Judy Chicago with a group show of Los Angeles artists from the late 1960s, highlighting her lesser-known early work and its Californian context. The centerpiece is 'Feather Room' (1967), a walk-in environment with a thick layer of duck feathers, shown for the first time since its creation. The exhibition also features works by Marcia Hafif, John McCracken, DeWain Valentine, Bruce Nauman, and Robert Morris, juxtaposed with Chicago's diverse output: psychedelic car hood paintings, multicolored panels, aluminum structures, optical works, and fireworks videos. Her ephemeral land art actions, documented on film, are contrasted with permanent works by Robert Smithson and James Turrell. The show underscores Chicago's feminist engagement, evident in her writings and stance, and references Lucy Lippard's 'The Dematerialization of Art'. Chicago's inclusion in the 1966 'Primary Structures' exhibition at the Jewish Museum highlights the porous boundaries of minimalism and the vibrancy of the California scene. A French translation of Chicago's autobiography 'Through the Flower' has been published by Presses du Réel.