Artist Spotlight
Mary Weatherford makes large paintings comprising grounds of spontaneously sponged paint on heavy linen canvases, often surmounted by one or more carefully shaped and placed colored neon tubes. The canvas—prepared with white gesso mixed with marble dust and worked on with Flashe paint, a highly pigmented but readily diluted emulsion—supports startlingly diverse applications of color, while the surface of the paint ranges from matte and velvety to transparent and translucent. Weatherford’s use of color and light is based on her direct experience of specific locations, as well as her memories of such experiences.
Created in response to the covid-19 pandemic, the Artist Spotlight series highlights individual artists, one week at a time, whose exhibitions have been affected by the health crisis. A single artwork by the artist is made available with pricing information for forty-eight hours only.
Artist Spotlight: Mary Weatherford features a key work from the artist’s upcoming major exhibition with Gagosian, in London. For more information, please contact the gallery at collecting@gagosian.com.
#GagosianSpotlight
Photo: Antony Hoffman
Mary Weatherford: The Flaying of Marsyas
In conjunction with her exhibition The Flaying of Marsyas at Museo di Palazzo Grimani, Venice, Mary Weatherford discusses the featured paintings, which are directly inspired by Titian’s late, eponymous masterpiece of circa 1570–76 and reflect her enduring fascination with the painting.
Now available
Gagosian Quarterly Summer 2022
The Summer 2022 issue of Gagosian Quarterly is now available, with two different covers—featuring Takashi Murakami’s 108 Bonnō MURAKAMI.FLOWERS (2022) and Andreas Gursky’s V & R II (2022).
Mary Weatherford: The Flaying of Marsyas
Coinciding with the 59th Venice Biennale, an exhibition at the Museo di Palazzo Grimani in Venice presents new paintings by Mary Weatherford inspired by Titian’s The Flaying of Marsyas (c. 1570–76). Francine Prose traces the development of these works.
Mary Weatherford: Train Yards
Mary Weatherford speaks to Laura Hoptman about her new paintings, the Train Yard series. Begun in 2016, this body of work evokes the sights and sounds of railroads and night skies. The series will be shown for the first time in late 2020, in an exhibition at Gagosian, London.
Work in Progress
Mary Weatherford
We visit the artist’s California studio as she prepares for her exhibition I’ve Seen Gray Whales Go By. She speaks with Jennifer Peterson about her new paintings, her studio process, and the artists who have inspired her.
Mary Weatherford: I’ve Seen Gray Whales Go By
Taking viewers behind the scenes during the installation of Mary Weatherford’s I’ve Seen Gray Whales Go By at Gagosian, New York, this video features interviews with the artist and John Elderfield.
Related Exhibitions
Related News
Talk and Book Signing
Mary Weatherford
Chrissie Iles
Saturday, January 20, 2024, 3pm
Gagosian, 980 Madison Avenue, New York
Join Gagosian for a conversation between Mary Weatherford and Chrissie Iles, curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, inside Sea and Space, the artist’s exhibition of new paintings and works on paper at Gagosian, 980 Madison Avenue, New York. Dominated by the color green, Weatherford’s paintings make visual reference to arboreal and aquatic environments, as well as outer space. The pair will discuss the inspiration and process behind these works, which are imbued with spatial illusion and a spirit of existential inquiry. Following the talk, the Gagosian Shop at 976 Madison Avenue will host a reception where Weatherford will sign copies of her new book, The Flaying of Marsyas, which documents her 2022 exhibition of the same title at Museo di Palazzo Grimani, Venice. Published by Gagosian, the book will be available for purchase at the event.
Mary Weatherford, Small Terracotta Event, 2023 © Mary Weatherford. Photo: Fredrik Nilsen Studio
Award
Mary Weatherford
Aspen Award for Art
Mary Weatherford is the recipient of the 2021 Aspen Award for Art, which will be presented on Friday, August 6. The award was established in 2005 by the Aspen Art Museum in Colorado to recognize individual artists making exemplary contributions to contemporary art.
On the occasion of the award, Weatherford will be in conversation with Nicola Lees, director of the Aspen Art Museum; Simone Krug, assistant curator; and Luis Yllanes, chief operating officer. The group will discuss Weatherford’s recent exhibition Neon Paintings, which was recently on view at the museum.
Photo: Antony Hoffman
Online Reading
Mary Weatherford
I’ve Seen Gray Whales Go By
Mary Weatherford: I’ve Seen Gray Whales Go By is available for online reading from June 17 through July 16 as part of Artist Spotlight: Mary Weatherford. Documenting Weatherford’s 2018 exhibition at Gagosian in New York, her first with the gallery, it features a new essay by curator and art historian John Elderfield that examines how this body of work evokes not just landscapes, but specific events and narratives. The plate section is interspersed with examples of Weatherford’s varied source material, including a nursery rhyme, a page of sheet music, and an entry from artist Agnes Pelton’s journal.
Mary Weatherford: I’ve Seen Gray Whales Go By (New York: Gagosian, 2020)
Museum Exhibitions
On View
Color Is the First Revelation of the World
Through August 18, 2024
Orange County Museum of Art, Costa Mesa, California
ocma.art
Drawing inspiration from the color theories of Brazilian artist Hélio Oiticica (1937–1980), this exhibition explores the intersections of color and form, emphasizing the transformative nature of art. Through a collection of monochromatic works in hues of blue, the works on view span the various histories of the twentieth century to pose timely questions about the world around us. Work by Chris Burden, Cy Twombly, and Mary Weatherford is included.
Chris Burden, A Tale of Two Cities, 1981, installation view, Orange County Museum of Art, Costa Mesa, California © 2024 Chris Burden/Licensed by the Chris Burden Estate and Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo: Yubo Dong, ofstudio
Closed
Making Their Mark
November 2, 2023–March 23, 2024
Shah Garg Foundation, New York
www.shahgargfoundation.org
Making Their Mark, curated by Cecilia Alemani, showcases the works of more than seventy women artists from the last eight decades. The exhibition champions the lives and work of women artists, bringing into vibrant relief their intergenerational relationships, formal and material breakthroughs, and historical impact. Through drawings, mixed media, paintings, sculptures, and textile works, these artists aim to rechart art history through their singular, iconic practices. Work by Carol Bove, Jadé Fadojutimi, Sarah Sze, and Mary Weatherford is included.
Installation view, Making Their Mark, Shah Garg Foundation, New York, November 2, 2023–March 23, 2024. Artwork, left to right: © Joan Semmel, © Carol Bove, © Maria Lassnig, © 2024 Dana Schutz, © Cecily Brown
Closed
Mary Weatherford
The Flaying of Marsyas
April 20–November 27, 2022
Museo di Palazzo Grimani, Venice
polomusealeveneto.beniculturali.it
This exhibition presents new paintings by Mary Weatherford, which are directly inspired by Titian’s late, eponymous masterpiece of circa 1570–76 and reflect her enduring fascination with the painting. Alluding to the Renaissance painter’s subdued palette, while paying tribute to the distinctive light of Venice, Weatherford uses Flashe paint and neon tubing to distill the historical canvas’s affect. The exhibition opens immediately prior to the commencement of the 59th Biennale di Venezia.
Installation view, Mary Weatherford: The Flaying of Marsyas, Museo di Palazzo Grimani, Venice, April 20–November 27, 2022. Artwork © Mary Weatherford. Photo: Matteo de Fina
Closed
America. Entre rêves et réalités
La collection du Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Collection
June 9–September 11, 2022
Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Canada
www.mnbaq.org
Featuring more than a hundred paintings, photographs, sculptures, and video works drawn from the permanent collection of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, DC, this exhibition, whose title translates to America. Between Dreams and Realities, offers a broad overview of modern and contemporary American art. Organized thematically, it looks carefully and critically at the notion of the American dream and uncovers how artists have variously grappled with questions of identity, the challenges of globalization, the realities of everyday life in America, and the complexities of its technological and political revolutions. Work by Alexander Calder, Willem de Kooning, Helen Frankenthaler, Sally Mann, Man Ray, Brice Marden, Nam June Paik, Ed Ruscha, Andy Warhol, and Mary Weatherford is included.
Mary Weatherford, Engine, 2014, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC © Mary Weatherford. Photo: Fredrik Nilsen Studio