Annu Palakunnathu Matthew (b. 1964), United States, Types, 2005, from the series An Indian from India, inkjet print, Museum Purchase: Carl and Alice Bimel Endowment for South Asian Art, 2019.216.2, © Annu Palakunnathu Matthew courtesy sepiaEYE
Corita Kent (1918 – 1986), United States, Daily, 1967, color serigraph, Museum Purchase, 1969.574, © 2020 Immaculate Heart Community and Corita Art Center
Rei Kawakubo (b. 1942), designer, Comme des Garçons (est. 1969), design house, Japan, Dress, Belt, Shoes and Socks, Spring 2016, polyester, rayon, cotton, triacetate, nylon, wool, leather, ostrich feathers, Museum Purchase: Funds provided by Friends of Fashion, 2016.42a – f
Shahzia Sikander (born Lahore, Pakistan 1969; active United States), A Slight and Pleasing Dislocation, 1993, gouache and gesso on board, Cincinnati Art Museum; Alice Bimel Endowment for Asian Art, 2019.195, © 2019 Courtesy of Shahzia Sikander Studio, New York
Newcomb Pottery, Mary Sheerer, 1898, ceramic, Gift of the Artist, 1898.221a-b
Flower Still Life, Maria van Oosterwijck, 1669, oil on canvas, Bequest of Mrs. L.W. Scott Alter, 1988.150
Vase, Maria Longworth Nichols Storer, 1882, 19th Century, ceramic, Gift of Florence I. Balasny-Barnes in memory of Parents Elizabeth C. and Joseph Balasny, 1992.86
Free | Press Release
Explore the role of women in art and art history at the Cincinnati Art Museum through works from the museum’s permanent collection created from the seventeenth century to today. Art from across Europe, North America, Africa and Asia in a range of mediums will be featured together, including oil on canvas, ceramic, prints, photography, and fashion. The exhibition will encourage visitors to think critically about gender, representation, and diversity and how that translates to the museum’s collecting practices and gallery installations.
Women Breaking Boundaries, the visitor-favorite exhibition that closed early due to the pandemic, has been recreated for an extended run. Women Breaking Boundaries Version 2.0 continues to explore identity through the lens of gender, race, and representation through works that manipulate medium, historical sources, and form. Captivating works by Helen Frankenthaler, Mary Cassatt, Elizabeth Catlett and others remained, while over two-thirds of the exhibition space was reconceptualized. Prominent artists added to the show included Eleanor Antin, Zanele Muholi, Annu Palakunnathu Matthew, Kiki Smith, Julie Mehretu, Corita Kent and Rei Kawakubo, founder of Comme des Garçons. Visitors are encouraged to view Women Breaking Boundaries and explore the Cincinnati Art Museum permanent collection galleries that feature women.
Women Breaking Boundaries will be on view in the Vance Waddell and Mayerson Galleries (Galleries 124 and 125). Admission is free. Photography is encouraged, but no flash. On social media, use #WomenBreakingBoundaries and #PowerofHer.
The Cincinnati Art Museum is supported by the generosity of tens of thousands of contributors to the ArtsWave Community Campaign, the region's primary source for arts funding.
Free general admission to the Cincinnati Art Museum is made possible by a gift from the Rosenthal Family Foundation. Exhibition pricing may vary. Parking at the Cincinnati Art Museum is free.
Generous support for our extended Thursday hours is provided by Art Bridges Foundation’s Access for All program.
General operating support provided by: