Inner Circle
Howardena Pindell
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For nearly six decades, artist Howardena Pindell has explored and expanded the language of abstraction while struggling against a racist and misogynistic culture. “When you work with abstraction you’re working with your own intuitive feelings about space, color, line, shape,” says Pindell. “Its purpose is almost a way of opening up our thought process because you’re reading someone else’s language and you’re interpreting it through your own language.” Fascinated by circles and numbers, Pindell has developed a formal language that speaks to both universal and personal experiences through her paintings and paper works. In this Extended Play film, Pindell reflects on formative childhood memories, her confrontations with systemic prejudice, and the enduring joy she finds in being an artist.
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About the artists
Howardena Pindell was born in 1943 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and currently lives and works in New York City. She graduated with a BFA from Boston University in 1965 and an MFA from the Yale School of Art and Architecture in 1967. Pindell’s large-scale abstract paintings and mixed-media works combine conventional and unconventional materials and techniques: exploring color, structure, and texture. By developing a visual language through the use of circles, numbers, and grids, the artist’s work reflects her interests and struggles ranging from her observations of the cosmos to systemic prejudice in the United States.
