About

Rita Ackermann is a Hungarian-born, New York-based artist known for her dynamic paintings that merge figuration and abstraction, exploring themes of transformation, erasure, and the tension between chaos and control. Her works have been widely exhibited internationally and are held in major museum collections, cementing her status as a significant figure in contemporary art.

Early Years

Born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1968, Ackermann studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Budapest before relocating to New York City in 1992. In New York, she attended the Whitney Independent Study Program, immersing herself in the city's underground art and music scenes, which shaped the early development of her practice. Ackermann continues to live and work in New York.

Artworks

Ackermann's practice encompasses painting, drawing, and collage, marked by a restless negotiation between abstraction and figuration. Her works often feature ghostly outlines of figures—particularly young girls—overlaid with gestural brushwork, stains, and scrawls, creating layered compositions that suggest both creation and erasure.

Early Works: Drawings and Youth Culture (1990s)

Ackermann first gained recognition in the 1990s with her raw, graphic drawings of adolescent girls. These works, including the 'Teenage Stardust' series, captured the rebellious energy and vulnerability of youth, reflecting the downtown New York art and music scenes she was immersed in after emigrating from Hungary. Ackermann's thinly outlined, often eroticised figures challenged both the aesthetics of traditional portraiture and the art world's treatment of feminine desire. This early period established central motifs in her practice: the collision of innocence and aggression, and the exploration of female identity as a site of tension and change.

Transition to Abstraction (2000s–2010s)

By the 2000s, Ackermann's practice had shifted toward greater abstraction, though the figure remained an essential element. In series such as 'Fire by Days' (2010) and 'Mama' (2011), she began layering fragmented bodies beneath gestural strokes and smears of oil, acrylic, and chalk. These paintings reflect a dynamic interplay between the visible and the hidden, where images seem to flicker in and out of focus. Ackermann's use of erasure and overlay created canvases charged with psychological intensity, evoking states of desire, dislocation, and dissolution. This period also marked a technical expansion in her work, with large-scale paintings that balanced forceful brushwork with delicate line.

Recent Works: Chalkboard Paintings and Erasure (2010s–present)

Ackermann's 'Chalkboard Paintings' series (2014–ongoing) represents a pivotal moment in her evolution as an artist. Here, the chalkboard surface functions both materially and metaphorically, offering a space where marks can be made and unmade, reflecting themes of memory, absence, and transformation. The process of drawing, painting, and repeatedly erasing creates ghostlike traces that float across the surface, generating a sense of impermanence and flux. In more recent works, including the 'Mama '21' series, Ackermann deepens her exploration of instability, with figures dissolving into volatile abstract fields. The paintings capture a tension between control and surrender, structure and collapse, making them some of the most emotionally resonant works of her career.

Exhibitions

Rita Ackermann has been the subject of both solo exhibitions and group exhibitions at important institutions.

Solo Exhibitions

  • Manna Rain, Fondazione Iris, Bassano in Teverina, Italy (2024)
  • Rita Ackermann. Hidden, MASI Lugano, Switzerland (2023)
  • Rita Ackermann, Museum of Contemporary Art, Miami (2012)
  • Bakos, Ludwig Museum, Budapest (2011)
  • Rita Ackermann and Harmony Korine: Shadow Fux, Swiss Institute (2010)
  • Marfa / Crash, The Chinati Foundation, Marfa, Texas (2009)
  • Snowfall in August, Museum Het Domein, Sittard, Netherlands (2002)

Group Exhibitions

  • The Mother and the Weaver: Works from the Ursula Hauser Collection, The Foundling Museum, London (2023)
  • Women Painting Women, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, Texas (2022)
  • Trouble in Paradise. Collection Rattan Chadha, Kunsthal Rotterdam, Rotterdam (2019)
  • Michael Jackson: On the Wall, National Portrait Gallery, London (2018)
  • Transmissions: re-creation, repetition, Beaux-arts de Paris, Paris (2015)
  • Art Unlimited, Art Basel, Basel (2014)
  • Looking at Music: 3.0, Museum of Modern Art, New York (2011)

Critical Reception

Ackermann's practice has been widely covered in publications including Artnet News, ArtReview, The Financial Times,

FAQs

Where can I see Rita Ackermann's artworks?

Rita Ackermann's paintings and drawings are held in major museum collections and shown in leading galleries worldwide. Notable institutions include The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Dallas Museum of Art, the Ludwig Museum in Budapest, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Miami, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. Her work is also frequently exhibited at Hauser & Wirth galleries in New York, Los Angeles, and Zürich, as well as in prominent exhibitions at venues such as MASI Lugano, Fondazione Iris in Italy, and the Swiss Institute in New York.

What is Rita Ackermann best known for?

Ackermann is best known for her dynamic approach to contemporary art, which merges figuration and abstraction. Her signature works often feature ghostly outlines of figures-especially adolescent girls-layered with gestural brushwork and erasures. The 'Chalkboard Paintings' and 'Mama' series are among her most recognised bodies of work, exploring themes of creation and destruction, memory, and transformation.

How has Rita Ackermann's style evolved over time?

Ackermann's early works in the 1990s were characterised by graphic, raw drawings of young women that captured the rebellious spirit of youth culture in downtown New York. Over the years, her practice shifted towards greater abstraction, with figures dissolving into gestural marks and fields of colour. Her more recent paintings, such as those in the 'Chalkboard Paintings' and 'Splits' series, use processes of addition and erasure to create compositions that hover between visibility and disappearance.

Which themes are central to Ackermann's art?

Ackermann's contemporary artworks explore the interplay between creation and destruction, the boundaries between figuration and abstraction, and the fleeting nature of memory and identity. Her process often involves drawing, painting, and erasing, resulting in layered surfaces that evoke instability, transformation, and the tension between chaos and control.

Has Rita Ackermann collaborated outside the art world?

Yes. Ackermann's imagery has been adapted for fashion, including collaborations with Supreme for their Fall/Winter 2019 collection and Chloé in 2020, as well as with filmmaker Harmony Korine. Her art's influence extends into popular culture and design, reflecting its broad appeal and adaptability.

Sherry Paik | Ocula | 2025

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Rita Ackermann contemporary artist
Rita Ackermann b. 1968, Hungary
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