Howardena Pindell

Fruitmarket Segments

A November 2021 conversation between Howardena Pindell and Fruitmarket Director, Fiona Bradley, about the selection of works in Howardena Pindell: A New Language at Fruitmarket.

This was Howardena Pindell’s first solo exhibition in a public organisation in the UK.

The exhibition tracked the development of Pindell’s artistic language from the 1970s to now, and examined her work as exemplary in articulating empowerment.

The exhibition brought together a significant selection of her work, and did its best to celebrate and communicate her vision, in the hope that we might all be able to respond to her urgent call for change.

Pindell makes beautiful, abstract paintings by spraying paint through a hand-made, hole-punched stencil. She makes intricate, complex paintings that layer paint with collaged paper circles, thread, glitter, powder and sequins. She makes paintings about war, Apartheid, police violence, the AIDS crisis, slavery and the environment. Her works on paper play with the tropes of lists, tallies, graphs and grids. And her two videos, Free White and 21 (1980) and Rope/Fire/Water (2020) confront racism head on.

Further details about the show, including images and video, can be found at the Fruitmarket online archive.

The book produced to accompany the exhibition is available from the Fruitmarket Bookshop.

A film of this conversation is available on the Fruitmarket YouTube channel.

A free, public space for culture in the heart of Edinburgh, the Fruitmarket provides inspiration and opportunity for artists and audiences. We programme, develop and present world-class exhibitions, commissions, publications, performances, events and engagement activities, opening up the artistic process.

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