"Seductive Subversion: Women Pop Artists 1958 – 1968," the first major exhibition of female Pop artists, takes aim at more accurately reflecting the depth of women's contributions to Pop Art.

        
"With Love to Jean Paul Belmondo"                                  "Ampersand IV" by Chryssa
by Pauline Boty                                                                   1965, neon, glass and plastic
1962, oil on canvas (detail)                                                30 x 11 1/2 x 13 1/2 inches
48 x 59 7/8 inches                                                              The Harry N. Abrams Family Collection, NY
                                                                                            Photograph by Ivory Serra

"Traditionally, Pop Art has been defined and dominated by a small group of Anglo-American male artists," said curator Sid Sachs, who has been developing the exhibition for five years. "This show expands this narrow definition and re-evaluates the critical reception of Pop Art. Many of these artworks have not been shown in four decades.

"Seductive Subversion" features paintings and sculptures by Evelyne Axell, Pauline Boty, Vija Celmins, Chryssa, Niki de Saint Phalle, Rosalyn Drexler, Dorothy Grebenak, Kay Kurt, Yayoi Kusama, Lee Lozano, Marisol, Mara McAfee, Barbro Östlihn, Faith Ringgold, Martha Rosler, Marjorie Strider, Alina Szapocznikow, Idelle Weber, Joyce Wieland and May Wilson.

        
"Young Woman's Blues" by Joyce Wieland                      "Marvelous Modern Mechanical Men"
1964, mixed media, 17 1/2 x 13 x 9 inches                       by Mara McAfee
University of Lethbridge Art Gallery                                  1963, oil on canvas (detail), 60 x 47 1/2 inches
The University of Lethbridge Art Collection
Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada

The University has secured loans of artwork from the National Gallery, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (Washington, D.C.), Neuberger Museum (Purchase, N.Y.) and major private collectors.

"Green Triptych" by Marjorie Strider, 1963, acrylic paint, laminated pine on masonite panels, 105 x 72 inches
Courtesy of the Artist/Collection of Michael T Chutko, Photography by Randal Bye

The show's main staging will be at the Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery (333 S. Broad St., Philadelphia), with the Hamilton Hall Galleries (320 S. Broad St., Philadelphia) and Borowsky Gallery (401 S. Broad St., Philadelphia) hosting the balance of the art work. The Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. and Saturday noon–5 p.m. The exhibition is free and open to the public. For information, call 215-717-6480.      
                                       

        
"Hall of Fame (Babe Ruth Baseball Cards)"                     "Black Rosy or My Heart Belongs to Rosy"
by Dorothy Grebenak                                                         by Niki de Saint Phalle
c. 1964, wool (detail)                                                          1965, material, wool, paint and wire mesh
65 x 50 inches                                                                    89 x 59 x 33 1/2 inches
Photograph courtesy Allan Stone Gallery                         © 2010 NIKI CHARITABLE ART FOUNDATION
Collection of Allan and Clare Stone                                  All rights reserved, Photo Credit: © Laurent Condominas

"Seductive Subversion: Women Pop Artists 1958 - 1968" was organized by the Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery at the University of the Arts. This project, along with a documentary film by Glenn Holsten, has been supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage through the Philadelphia Exhibitions Initiative, with additional support from the Marketing Innovation Program. Additional funding for the film is generously provided by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation and the Quaker Chemical Foundation.