Marisol Escobar, known simply as Marisol, was a Venezuelan-American artist born in France in 1930 who became one of her generation’s leading yet often under-recognised figures. A new retrospective, the largest ever mounted of Marisol’s work, features nearly 250 artworks, with 39 pieces displayed for the first time during the tour. Spanning the 9,500-square-foot third floor of the new Jeffrey E. Gundlach Building at the Buffalo, AKG. This exhibition repositions Marisol as a critical voice in contemporary art.
Marisol played a crucial role in defining the 1960s art scene with her innovative and groundbreaking work. The Buffalo AKG was the first museum to acquire Marisol’s pieces, purchasing her sculptures “The Generals” from her solo show at the Stable Gallery in 1962 and “Baby Girl” in 1964.
Marisol Escobar was born to Venezuelan parents in Paris on 22 May 1930. Due to her family’s wealth, her early life was marked by frequent relocations across Europe, Venezuela, and the States. After her mother’s tragic death when she was eleven, Marisol turned to art as a means of solace and expression. She studied at the Académie Julian in Paris, the Art Students League of New York, and the Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts, absorbing diverse influences that would shape her unique style.
By the 1950s, Marisol had become a notable figure in the New York art scene. Her work, which often blended Pop Art, folk art, and surrealism, was characterised by life-sized wooden sculptures adorned with found objects, plaster casts, and painted surfaces. Her pieces frequently explored themes of identity, femininity, and cultural critique, often imbued with humour or satire.
One of her most renowned works,” “The Family” (1962), showcases her ability to combine wooden forms with painted faces and authentic clothing, reflecting her interest in human relationships and societal roles. Despite her acclaim, Marisol remained a private and enigmatic figure, allowing her art to communicate on her behalf.
Marisol participated in important exhibitions throughout her career, including those at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Venice Biennale. In 1968, she was awarded the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship. Her influence extended beyond her sculptures, paving the way for future generations of women artists through her role as a female artist in a predominantly male-dominated field. Her work continues to be celebrated for its originality, emotional depth, and social commentary. In 2016, Marisol bequeathed her estate to the Buffalo AKG, which includes the world’s most significant collection of her work.
Her representation by the New York gallery led by Buffalo native Sidney Janis likely influenced her decision to leave her estate to the museum.” Marisol: A Retrospective,” curated by Cathleen Chaffee, Charles Balbach’s Chief Curator, first opened at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts on 7 October 2023, and subsequently travelled to the Toledo Museum of Art. Following its presentation in Buffalo, the exhibition will move to the Dallas Museum of Art, where it will be on view from 23 February through 6 July 2025. This exhibition represents the culmination of over six years of research and conservation of Marisol’s estate, offering an unprecedented exploration of her nearly sixty-year career.
The exhibition comprises six thematic sections tracing Marisol’s career from the 1950s to the early 2000s. It begins with her early forays into sculpture and her largely unseen body of works on paper. The 1960s section includes a selection of Pop Art sculptures that made Marisol a mid-century celebrity, culminating in her monumental work” “The Part” (1965–66). This piece, which thematises womanhood in 1960s New York society, is presented alongside her iconic sculptures” “Baby Gir” and “Baby Boy”, which address Cold War concerns and the pressures of femininity and motherhood.
Subsequent sections shed light on Marisol’s engagement with issues of ecology, anti-war movements, second-wave feminism, global inequities, and racial and ethnic disenfranchisement. Works like “Barracuda” (1971) and “Needlefish II” (1973) reveal her engagement with the natural world and global political events such as the Vietnam War. Her large-scale drawings with confrontational titles, like “I Hate You Creep and Your Fetu” (1973), capture second-wave feminist anger. Pieces like” “Boy with Empty Bowl” (1987) and “Woman with Child and Two Lambs” (1995) demonstrate her ongoing engagement with the politics of her time.
The exhibition also highlights Marisol’s collaborative work with dance companies and her public sculptures, areas of her practice that have previously evaded public appreciation. She created sets and costumes for prominent dance companies, including the Louis Falco Dance Company and the Martha Graham Dance Company.
Ephemera, photography, and video documentation related to these collaborations will be exhibited for the first time. Additionally, her public sculptures, like Hawaii’s” “Father Damie” (1969) and” “American Merchant Mariners” Memoria” (1988), will be presented through preparatory sketches, maquettes, and research documents.” Marisol: A Retrospective” is more than just a revaluation of a Pop Art icon; it presents Marisol as an artist who addressed and interrogated pressing issues of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries in radical ways. The exhibition’s presentation of her extensive body of work across various media and previously unseen archival material offers a comprehensive view of her groundbreaking practice, complex subjectivity, and powerful creative agency.
“Marisol: A Retrospective” at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, opened on 12 July 2024 and running through 6 January 2025, is the most comprehensive exhibition dedicated to Marisol’s art.