We are thrilled to welcome Maren Hassinger back to the East End and have her join Renee Cox in conversation to fill us in on her current work and her upcoming exhibition at DIA. The RING THE ALARM series began with discussions with Renee Cox on an exhibition of Black Artists that she will be curating for the summer of 2023.
“Guild Hall is very excited to present this second installment of Ring the Alarm for 2021. We believe now more than ever that the need for open dialogue on art, race and politics is timely and something that we as a community at large need to engage in more. The reactions to the first 3 talks with Derrick Adams, Sanford Biggers, and Shinique Smith were truly inspiring and we plan to continue this series of conversations leading up to the 2023 Summer exhibition that Renee Cox will guest curate.” – Christina Mossaides Strassfield, Museum Director/Chief Curator
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Renée Cox
Renée Cox is a visual artist, working foremost in photography and video. Her work arises at this intersection of history, race theory, and sexuality. In her practice, Cox works to deconstruct stereotypes, engage the viewer and to challenge their preconceived ideas about gender and race. She explores the possibilities of new and affirming self-representations for Black diasporic peoples as a visual corrective to both art history and history writ large—transforming dispossession into self-possession. By deconstructing the Black female body, she reveals the myths behind it.
Cox began her career as a commercial photographer, working for Condé Nast, and the music and film industries. She turned to fine art after receiving an MFA from the School of Visual Arts in 1992. Since then, Cox has worked as a visual artist, educator, curator, lecturer, and a frequent contributor to the New York Times Magazine. The Archives of American Art (Smithsonian, Washington, D.C.) acquired Cox’s personal archive in 2019.
Renée Cox (b. Colgate, Jamaica) lives and works in Harlem, NY and Amagansett, East Hampton. Her work is included in several institutional collections including the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Princeton Art Museum.
Photo: Renée Cox
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Maren Hassinger
Maren Hassinger has built an expansive practice that connects humanity to nature through a range of media. Carefully choosing materials for their innate characteristics, she has explored the subject of movement, family, love, nature, environment, consumerism, identity, and race. In each context, the artist creates an eloquent response to timely issues regarding our relationship to the natural world and to each other. Hassinger is the recipient of numerous honors, including a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Women's Caucus for the Arts. Hassinger’s work is included in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago; Baltimore Museum of Art; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Museum of Modern Art, NYC; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, NYC, among others.
Maren will be having solo exhibitions at the Susan Inglett Gallery, 522 WEST 24TH Street NYC 10011 from April 29 through June 12, 2021 and DIA Bridgehampton opening late June 2021 through May 2022. Maren lived in the springs in the mid 1990’s and exhibited at Guild Hall.
Photo: Grace Roselli