With CLOSE-UP, the Fondation Beyeler in Riehen/Basel is exhibiting works by female modern artists from September 19, 2021 to January 02, 2021. Its focus lies on nine women whose work represents captivating positions within history from 1870 to the present day - a period in which women in Europe and America first had the opportunity to pursue art as a professional activity. The nine female artists are the French Berthe Morisot (1841-1895), the US-Americans Mary Cassatt (1844-1926) and Alice Neel (1900-1984), the Germans Paula Modersohn-Becker (1876-1907) and Lotte Laserstein (1898-1993), the Mexican Frida Kahlo (1907-1954), the South African Marlene Dumas (*1953), and two contemporary U.S. artists Cindy Sherman (*1954) and Elizabeth Peyton (*1965).
Despite their different origins and backgrounds, all of the artists are similar in their attention to depicting their respective environments and people in portraits as well as self-portraits. CLOSE-UP aims to provide visitors with an overview of how the artists' impressions of their counterparts changed between 1870 and today, and what distinguishes them.
