New acquisitions of works by women artists enrich the MMFA's collection
View of one of the Jean-Noël Desmarais Pavilion’s contemporary art galleries. Photo MMFA, Jean-François Brière
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) continues to diversify its extraordinary collection with the addition of numerous works by renowned women artists. Here is an overview of several recent acquisitions.
The MMFA has acquired its first work by Esmaa Mohamoud (born in 1992), a young multidisciplinary Afro-Canadian artist from London, Ontario. Mohamoud is among the most distinctive and promising voices on the Canadian contemporary art scene. In her work, she explores notions of oppression and exploitation of the Black body, while also celebrating Black cultures around the world. The sculpture the Museum has just welcomed into its collection, Ebony in Ivory, I (2022), represents the bust of a young African girl with braided hair. It rests on a granite base around which are scattered hundreds of Ghanaian shea nuts that were moulded by hand. In this work, the artist creates a play of contrasts by juxtaposing expressions of beauty, symbols of hard labour, and the objectification of the model.
Esmaa Mohamoud, Born in London, Ontario, in 1992, Ebony in Ivory, I, 2022. Promised gift of Dr. Paul Marks and family. Photo Esmaa Mohamoud Studios
The Museum has also acquired a painting by artist Christina Quarles (born in 1985), a rising star whose works can be found in many prestigious collections, including those of the Whitney Museum, the Tate Modern, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Originally from Chicago, Quarles grew up in Los Angeles, where she now lives and works. Her art is a constant exploration of the human body in which jumbled limbs and parts serve as the jumping-off point for reflections on the bodily experience. Rich in colour and texture, the monumental painting Kicking n’ Screaming (2022) is an eloquent example of this production.
Christina Quarles, Born in Chicago in 1985, Kicking n' Screaming, 2022. The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Purchase, through the generosity of the International Friends of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the support of Allison Berg as well as Xu & Huang Family Charitable Foundation. Promised gift. Photo MMFA, Jean-François Brière.
American artist Shirley Jaffe (1923-2016) moved to Paris in 1949 and lived there the rest of her life. She developed close friendships with the likes of Sam Francis, Jean Paul Riopelle and Joan Mitchell. Her canvas The White Day (about 1955) was chosen for its remarkable formal qualities as well as its potential to dialogue with other works in the MMFA’s collection made by artists who were close to Jaffe. The White Day is one of the rare paintings the artist produced in landscape orientation in the 1950s. Its rich and vibrant palette, supple and varied brushstrokes, and white tones inject movement and luminosity into the painting.
Shirley Jaffe (1923-2016), The White Day, about 1955. The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Purchase, the Museum Campaign 1988-1993 Fund, Women of Influence Circle Fund and Giverny Capital Fund in memory of Pierre Théberge. Photo MMFA, Jean-François Brière.
Lastly, the Museum acquired Pomeriggio [Afternoon] (2003), an oil on canvas by internationally renowned Canadian artist Romany Eveleigh (1934-2020). A major figure in abstract contemporary art, Eveleigh’s work spanned six decades and stands apart for its formal originality, conceptual rigour and emotional depth. Pomeriggio places the viewer before a large square painting whose use of colour – intense and luminous – is positively enrapturing. In addition to Pomeriggio, the MMFA acquired the painting Nomad and a number of drawings by the artist.
Romany Eveleigh (1934 – 2020), Pomeriggio [Afternoon], 2003, Promised gift. Photo MMFA, Jean-François Brière.
The Museum is also thrilled to welcome into its collection works by Renée Condo, Veronika Pausova, Francine Savard, Ilana Savdie, Hito Steyerl and Zadie Xa, to name but a few.
You can admire the works of Quarles, Mohamoud, Jaffe, and Eveleigh in the contemporary art galleries on level S2 of the Jean-Noël Desmarais Pavilion.
