Judith Bernstein, a Yale alumna from 1967, has solidified her reputation as a relentlessly provocative artist, consistently challenging cultural, political, and social norms for over five decades. Her rise to prominence in the art world began in the early 1970s with her powerful, large-scale charcoal drawings depicting penis-screw hybrids. These early, impactful works were showcased at esteemed institutions such as AIR Gallery, Brooks Jackson Iolas Gallery, the Brooklyn Museum, and MoMA P.S. 1, among others, establishing her as a significant voice in contemporary art. Reviewing Bernstein’s retrospective at the New Museum in 2012-2013, The New York Times critic Ken Johnson lauded these pieces as “bravura performances of draftsmanship” and “masterpieces of feminine protest,” underscoring their artistic merit and socio-political weight.
The upcoming exhibition, Money Shot, hones in on Bernstein’s latest artistic explorations: new paintings from her Anti-Trump series, a progression from The Birth of the Universe paintings initiated in 2011. In Money Shot, Bernstein continues to employ overt sexual iconography, rendered with a blend of humor and the grotesque, a hallmark of her distinctive style. These compositions are further amplified by the incorporation of reinvented slang and contemporary catchphrases, ensuring her message is direct and unambiguous. The Money Shot series also marks a vibrant resurgence of the artist’s engagement with highly saturated, fluorescent paint, a medium she initially experimented with in the late 1960s, adding another layer of visual intensity to her already striking works.
Bernstein’s renowned The Birth of the Universe series has garnered international acclaim, exhibited at leading institutions worldwide including the New Museum, New York; Kunsthall Stavanger, Norway; Touchstones Rochdale, UK; Studio Voltaire, London; and prominent galleries such as Mary Boone Gallery, New York; The Box LA, Los Angeles; Gavin Brown’s Enterprise, New York; Pilar Corrias Gallery, London; Karma International, Zürich; Petzel Gallery, New York; Maruani Mercier, Brussels; and Venus, Los Angeles. This extensive exhibition history underscores the global recognition of her artistic contributions and the enduring relevance of her provocative vision.
In October 2017, The Drawing Center in New York hosted a solo exhibition, Judith Bernstein: Cabinet of Horrors, specifically commissioned to showcase new works on paper created in response to the political climate following Donald J. Trump’s presidential election in January 2017. This exhibition, much like Money Shot, reflects Bernstein’s unwavering commitment to addressing contemporary societal anxieties through her unflinching artistic lens.
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