Judy Chicago’s career is defined by a fierce self-belief, prodigious creative flair, a zest for social justice, and a lot of smoke.
In the early days, she injected expression into the emotion-deprived landscape of 1960s minimalism and met acclaim, and notoriety, with The Dinner Party (1979), a work that shook the foundations of art history. What Chicago has created since has been no less prophetic, fearless or radical; it continues to unearth the untold facets of history and penetrate contemporary culture deeper than most will dare to.
Judy Chicago’s limited-edition cover for Wallpaper’s February 2022 issue features Forever de Young, 2021, a fireworks performance in collaboration with Pyro Spectaculars by Souza. Staged on 16 October 2021 in front of the de Young Museum in San Francisco, Forever de Young was sponsored by philanthropist Jordan D Schnitzer, in memory of his late mother Arlene Schnitzer (1929-2020). Photography: Donald Woodman. Limited-edition cover © Judy Chicago/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Chicago began her Atmospheres series in the 1960s. In these site-specific cinematic works, plumes of pigment gush the air, liberating colour from the rigidity of painting and sculpture. They were an unobtrusive, ephemeral reimagining of what land art could be, but also, as Chicago told us in a recent interview: ‘an effort to feminise and soften an exceedingly male-centred art scene.’
RELATED STORY
These days, Chicago’s adventures in pyrotechnics (including her recent contribution to our Artist’s Palate series) are no less dramatic. On 16 October 2021, in celebration of the artist’s first retrospective, at the de Young Museum, San Francisco, Chicago filled the skies with a new smoke sculpture, Forever de Young, created in collaboration with Pyro Spectaculars by Souza. The work, awarded Best Fireworks in the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2022, also adorns the limited-edition subscriber cover for the issue.
The volcanic, multi-coloured smoke performance erupted from a 27ft-high tiered scaffold in front of the museum; non-toxic pigments danced in the wind and light in a spectral chromatic haze. The piece was staggering in scale, concept and choreography, and a fitting reflection on Chicago’s epic career. ‘I was marginalised for many decades because nobody could fit me into the narrow categories of contemporary art. When I was young, I wanted to fit in, but now I’m old, I’m like, “I don’t want to fit in.”’
Forever de Young, 2021, fireworks performance by Judy Chicago in collaboration with Pyro Spectaculars by Souza. Courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
Forever de Young, 2021, fireworks performance by Judy Chicago in collaboration with Pyro Spectaculars by Souza. Courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
Forever de Young, 2021, fireworks performance by Judy Chicago in collaboration with Pyro Spectaculars by Souza. Courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
INFORMATION
Judy Chicago’s cover is the latest addition to the Wallpaper* limited-edition cover series, which features a specially created artwork by a different artist, architect or designer each issue, available exclusively to subscribers.
judychicago.com; deyoung.famsf.org
-
Our Tech Editor's selection of new and upgraded audio players covers the full spectrum of formatsWhether it’s vinyl, cassette, CD or mp3, or even sound sources you’ve captured yourself, you’ll find a suitable device in this round-up of pocketable and portable audio players
-
This Swedish summer house is a family's serene retreat by the trees and the Baltic seaHorsö, a Swedish summer house by Atelier Alba is a playfully elegant retreat by the Kalmarsund Sea and a natural reserve
-
A new exhibition retraces 50 years of Pierre Paulin’s history around the table‘Les Tables de Pierre Paulin’ shows a lesser-known side of the designer’s creative world, accompanied by a new book tracing his wife’s hospitality around his iconic table designs. ‘A creator is never alone in his creation…’
-
One to Watch: Brooklyn studio Outgoing gives new meaning to the idea of world buildingLife and creative partners Brett Gui Xin and Del Hardin Hoyle from Outgoing blur the lines between craft and concept in experimental designs that have the potential for greater application
-
Discover the alchemy of American artists Philip and Kelvin LaVerneThe work of Philip and Kelvin LaVerne, prized by collectors of 20th-century American art, is the subject of a new book by gallerist Evan Lobel; he tells us more
-
Sarah Solis’ first furniture collection is an homage to art deco‘Is it weird to call furniture sexy?’ Los Angeles-based designer Sarah Solis discusses her debut furniture line and new brand and store, Galerie Solis
-
Three sleek new design showrooms you need to see in Los AngelesThree international design showrooms have started a retail design boom in Los Angeles. Here are the stores to put on your radar
-
One to watch: Casey Zablocki’s Rocky Mountain surroundings feed into his vast sculptural workMontana-based artist Casey Zablocki uses one of America’s largest kilns to create monumental ceramic, functional sculptures
-
This remodelled San Francisco family home by MEMarchitecture and Studio Volpe is a masterpiece of soothing modernityA sensitive and coherent approach by the San Francisco-based architects and designers has resulted in a home of tactile beauty, character and comfort
-
First Look: a domestic idyll by Lucy Stark and Fabien Cappello at the Blunk SpaceInspired by the life and times at JB Blunk's haven of a house in Inverness, a new exhibition of paintings and objects has us dreaming of California
-
Los Angeles gallery Marta explores the enduring inspiration of grottos with an ethereal, multi-sensory group showAt Marta, guest curator Krista Mileva-Frank exhibits work by 13 contemporary talents that demonstrate how the Renaissance-era grotto continues to fuel our imagination
