Howardena Pindell

Biografía

In her long and prolific career as an artist, activist, and arts worker, Howardena Pindell has drawn widespread acclaim for her stylistically diverse paintings and videos that frequently examine identity politics. Pindell is forthright about her experiences of racism and sexism as a Black woman and artist, as she recounted in her first and most famous video, “Free, White and 21” (1980). Almost 40 years later, in 2018, the MCA Chicago mounted her first major museum survey. Originally trained in figuration, Pindell turned to abstraction after receiving her MFA from Yale University. In 1968, she moved to New York City, took a job at the Museum of Modern Art, and began using a hole punch to create dizzying collages that grew larger and more abstract. Her work also became more personal and political after a near-fatal car accident in 1979, which motivated her “Autobiography” series addressing trauma and memory. Pindell was featured in The Artsy Vanguard 2019.