Courtesy of the artist
Astrid Seme, Figures for dashing, 2019, stereo, 4 min 25 sec.
Mimosa House in London shows Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven
Rediscovery of a legend in the exhibition »The Baroness«
»The first American Dada«, »New York's first punk persona«, »the great aunt of feminist performance art« − these are just a few descriptions of the artist Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven, who was considered a living legend in New York around 1920. Mimosa House in London will be showing works by the rediscovered Dadaist in dialogue with contemporary artists in The Baroness from May 27.
May 25, 2022
Numerous modernist women artists have rightly been thrust into the spotlight in recent years, but Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven is undoubtedly one of the most eccentric. Mimosa House in London is honoring her creations from May 27 to September 17 in an exhibition titled The Baroness. A selection of the few surviving originals will be complemented by poems and enter into dialogue with contemporary art makers such as Nora Gomringer, Libby Heaney, Caspar Heinemann, the Istanbul Queer Art Collective, Zuzanna Janin, Reba Maybury, Sadie Murdoch, Nat Raha, Taqralik Partridge, Liv Schulman and Astrid Seme.
Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven (1874-1927) was born Else Plötz in Germany and began her career as an erotic vaudeville artist in Berlin. She later worked as a nude model, as she could not make a living from selling her own paintings and sculptures. Von Freytag-Loringhoven's life was marked by poverty, affairs, and arrests for theft or public nudity. She received the title of nobility in 1913 through her third marriage to the impoverished Baron von Freytag-Loringhoven, with whom she lived in New York. There she was also considered a living legend because of her performances, but was unable to hold her own commercially as a woman because of her radicalism. For some years it has been suspected that von Freytag-Loringhoven is the actual creator of the readymade Fountain, which has been attributed to Marcel Duchamp and is considered by experts to be the most influential work of the 20th century.
Courtesy of the artist
Taqralik Partridge, Build My Own Home, 2021, Tyvek, canvas, newsprint, tarpaulin, hula hoops, thread, dental floss, synthetic sinew, silver teaspoons
Dive deeper into the art world
New York, The Museum of Modern Art
Political Portraits: »Ideas of Africa«
Everyday scenes, dance events, and changing youth cultures: In the exhibition Ideas of Africa: Portraiture and Political Imagination, the Museum of Modern Art explores how portrait photography influenced pan-African trends. The exhibition runs until July 25, 2026, in New York.
December 15, 2025
Atlanta: High Museum of Art presents Ralph Eugene Meatyard
The macabre photography pioneer
The High Museum of Art presents one of the most innovative photographers of the 20th century: Ralph Eugene Meatyard was self-taught and devoted himself to the absurd and surreal. The exhibition The Family Album of Ralph Eugene Meatyard, which opens in Atlanta on December 12, features 36 rare photographs.
December 12, 2025
