Jürgenssen hoped that the sharp social commentary in her work would unravel “the myth of power and male wishful thinking.” In these drawings, the artist depicts a woman (who closely resembles her) in physically bound positions, staging complex dramas of control, desire, and power. Though the drawings’ painstaking detail and fantastical scenarios offer no context and ambiguous meaning, Jürgenssen once reflected on her choice of subject: “Woman is so often the object of art. She is seldom and only reluctantly permitted to speak or portray herself.”
Vital Signs: Artists and the Body, November 3–February 22, 2024
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