Joan Semmel Subverts Stereotypes with Her Own Body

At 91, New York-born artist Joan Semmel continues to challenge prevailing depictions of women’s bodies. Since the 1970s, the American artist has focused on figuration, using her own body as the subject to offer a non-objectifying stance of the female form.

A selection of Semmel’s paintings spanning five decades is on view at Xavier Hufkens’ Van Eyck location in Brussels. Titled An Other View (25 April–15 June 2024), the exhibition coincides with the 40th edition of Art Brussels and marks Semmel’s first solo show in Europe since 1969.

On view are eight of Semmel’s larger-than-life oil paintings on canvas along with two works on paper. Spanning 1971 to 2018, the works extend visitors a moment to consider the artist’s evolving portrayal of the female nude form, its natural ageing, and its intersection with developing feminist issues.

Vivid and sensual, the paintings depict tightly cropped nudes with abstract colouring.

Semmel’s face is intentionally hidden in much of her work. It is behind a camera in Baroque (2002), for instance, and cropped out of frame in Turning (2018) and Yellow Sky (2015).

Semmel’s compositions are provocative and tender. She paints close-ups of her breasts, bottom, and belly true to form but in intense colours like lime green or orange-red.

Her representations don’t subscribe to the standardised images of women’s bodies, rather they speak to the imperfections of the human body with authenticity and originality.

In February 2024, Semmel’s painting Hold Tight (1973) sold for just over U.S. $4 million at Fair Warning, a private online auction platform. This sale more than doubled the artist’s auction record to date.