Audrey Flack

Hollis Taggart is thrilled to present Audrey Flack’s latest body of work in an exhibition that also celebrates the publication of the artist’s long-awaited memoir. At 92 years old, Flack's newest work draws from her over seven decades as an artist, from her early days as an Abstract Expressionist through mid-century realism, Photorealism, sculpture, and now her newest “Post-Pop Baroque” series. Created over the past three years, the sixteen works on view in Audrey Flack: With Darkness Comes Stars represent the pinnacle of her artistic output, interweaving biographical elements with pop culture as well as religious and art historical references. The exhibition will be on view from March 23 through April 20, 2024, with an opening reception and book signing from 2-4PM on Saturday, March 23, 2024. The memoir, titled With Darkness Came Stars and published by Penn State University Press, will be available for purchase at bookstores and online from March 19 on. There will also be signed copies for sale at the gallery.

Audrey Flack (born 1931) is considered one of the most important American artists of the twentieth century. Along with Mary Cassatt, Audrey was one of the first women to be included in Janson's History of Art. She was one of the original members of the groundbreaking Photorealist group, along with Chuck Close, Robert Bechtle, and Richard Estes, and the first Photorealist to have her work purchased by the Museum of Modern Art. Her work resides in major collections in the United States and Europe, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.

At age 92, Flack continues to demonstrate boundless creativity and dedication to her practice. Flack’s latest body of work is a culmination of her technical skills as a draftsperson and her encyclopedic knowledge of art and the history of religion, as well as her appreciation of pop culture. As gallery president Hollis Taggart and director Debra Pesci note in the exhibition catalogue, “These classic art historical depictions are juxtaposed with representations of popular superheroes and cultural icons creating a visual world as unique as the artist herself. But the images represent much more than just their face value; she instills in them a universal, almost archetypal meaning.” The exhibition is a testament to Flack’s belief in the healing power of art, an idea explored in depth in art historian Samantha Baskind’s catalogue essay.

In With Darkness Came Stars, Flack recounts her coming of age in the New York City art world, as well as her experiences balancing motherhood with being an artist at a time when the art world discredited this. The memoir is filled with anecdotes from the Cedar Tavern, Flack’s encounters with Jackson Pollock and other Abstract Expressionist painters, and her time at Cooper and Yale studying under Josef Albers, among many others. Featuring dozens of reproductions of her work, With Darkness Came Stars is an unforgettable journey through a remarkable life, in which Flack successfully navigates a vibrant and virulently sexist art world, escapes an abusive marriage, and reshapes the rules of art creation in the middle of the twentieth century.

Flack will also be the subject of a solo exhibition at the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill, NY from October 13, 2024 through April 6, 2025.

For more information about Audrey Flack: With Darkness Comes Stars, please contact us at info@hollistaggart.com or +1 212.628.4000.

For press inquiries, please contact Aga Sablinska at aga.sablinska@gmail.com or +1 862.216.6485.