The Cosmic Mother

Pioneer of feminist art and female spirituality, one of the first members of the international Goddess movement: Monica Sjöö (1938 - 2005) championed the end of oppression, working against it with her raw, bold images. Her works gave expression to her resentment of social injustice, acting as a mouthpiece in a world that had little to little exposure to the women's rights movement in her time. Sjöö's later work was much more concerned with ancient belief systems, worldviews, and bodies of knowledge: With pagan sites or past symbols of femininity, Sjöö expressed her intense involvement with matriarchal cultures.

With Monica Sjöö. The Great Cosmic Mother, Moderna Museet in Stockholm presents the first major survey exhibition of the Swedish artist, activist, writer, and ecofeminist. The retrospective paves the way for visitors into Sjöö's tightrope walk between activist and artistic practice. The exhibition is on view through October 15.

Swedish-born Monica Sjöö spent most of her adult life in Bristol, where she also produced her prominent painting God Giving Birth (1968) and co-authored the manifesto Towards a Revolutionary Feminist Art (1971). Sjöö was known for her religious views on motherhood and femininity.