Betty Tompkins
BETTY TOMPKINS
b. 1945 Washington, D.C.
Lives and works in New York, New York and Pleasant Mount, Pennsylvania
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2021 | Betty Tompkins, MOCO Montpellier Contemporain, Montpellier, FR (forthcoming) |
2019 | Talking Talking Talking, curated by Darren Flook, Freehouse, London, UK Fuck Paintings, Etc., J Hammond Projects, London, UK |
2018
| Will She Ever Shut Up?, P·P·O·W, New York, NY Betty Tompkins, WAAP, Vancouver, Canada Betty Tompkins, Ribordy Contemporary, Genève, Switzerland |
2017 | Betty Tompkins, Galerie Rodolphe Janssen, Brussels, Belgium Betty Tompkins, Kunstraum Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria Virgins, P·P·O·W, New York, NY |
2016 | Sex Works/ WOMEN Words, Phrases, and Stories, Gavlak Gallery, Los Angeles, CA WOMEN Words, Phrases, and Stories, The Flag Art Foundation, New York, NY |
2015 | Real Ersatz, FUG, New York, NY |
2014 | Paintings & Works on Paper: 1972-2013, Gavlak Gallery, Palm Beach, FL |
2013 | Betty Tompkins and Dadamanio, Home Alone 2, New York, NY Woman Words, Dinter Fine Art Online, New York, NY |
2012 | Fuck Paintings, Galerie Rodolph Janssen, Brussels, Belgium FUCK: Works on Paper 1969 - 2010, Venus Over Manhattan, Miami, FL |
2011 | Sex Works, Galerie Andrea Caratsch, Zurich, Switzerland |
2009 | New Work, Mitchell Algus Gallery, New York, NY |
2008 | Fuck Paintings and Drawings 1973 - 2007, Lawrimore Project, Seattle, WA |
2007 | Sex Works, Mitchell Algus Gallery, New York, NY |
2006 | Fuck Paintings and Drawings, Galerie Andrea Caratsch, Zurich, Switzerland |
2005 | New Paintings and Drawings, Mitchell Algus Gallery, New York, NY |
2002 | Fuck Paintings 1969 - 1974, Mitchell Algus Gallery, New York, NY |
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2021 | She Says: Women, Words, and Power, Virginia MOCA, Virginia Beach, VA |
2020 | To Cast Too Bold a Shadow, Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation, New York, NY Nasty Women, Gavlak Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Reflections, Gang Art Gallery, Seoul, South Korea |
2019 | A Woman Looking at Men Looking at Women, curated by Kasia Redzisz, Muzeum Susch, Zernez, Switzerland Tainted Love, Villa Arson, Nice, FR Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings, Petzel Gallery, New York, NY Rise, RIBORDY THETAZ, Geneva, Switzerland Feminist Avant-Garde of the 1970s: Works from the SAMMLUNG VERBUND Collection, The Brno House of Arts, Brno, Czech Republic Afflatus, 5-50 Gallery, curated by Amy Hill and Suzanne Unrein, Queens, NY FÜR BARBARA (BIS), curated by Leo Koenig, Hall Art Foundation, Schloss Derneburg Museum, Holle, Germany |
2018 | Half the Picture: A Feminist Look at the Collection, Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY Defacement, THE CLUB, Tokyo, Japan BETTY TOMPKINS & JEAN-BAPTISTE BERNADET, Ribordy Contemporary, Geneva, Switzerland WOMEN NOW, Austrian Cultural Forum, New York, NY The Value of Freedom, Belvedere 21, Vienna Histórias da sexualidade, Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP), São Paolo, Brazil Tainted Love, Le Confort Moderne, Poitiers, France HARD, University Hall Gallery, Boston, MA Declaration, Institute for Contemporary Art, Richmond, VA Feminist Avant-Garde of the 1970: Works from the SAMMLUNG VERBUND Collection, Stavanger Art Museum, Norway |
2017 | Feminist Avant-Garde of the 1970s: Works from the SAMMLUNG VERBUND Collection, ZKM Zentrum für Kunst und Medien, Karlsruhe, Germany Für Barbara, Hall Art Foundation Schloss Derneburg Museum, Derneburg, Germany Nude, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark A Space For Thought, Brand New Gallery, Milan, Italy Cunt, Venus LA, Los Angeles, CA Flaming June VII, Gavlak Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Secret Garden: The Female Gaze on Erotica, Untitled Space, New York, NY Ear Putty, 56 Henry Annex, New York, NY |
2016 | Tie His Hands Gently, Romeo, New York, NY #PUSSYPOWER, David & Schweitzer Contemporary, New York, NY Supercaligragilisticexpialidocious, Whitebox, New York, NY Uniques en Leurs Genres, Galerie Gaillard, Paris, France Dicks, Fortnight Institute, New York, NY The Bill and Betty Show, with Bill Mutter, Plato’s Cave at EIDIA House, Brooklyn, NY Beyond Secretary, Mark Borghi Fine Art, New York, NY LANDSCAPES, Marlborough Chelsea, New York, NY Summer Reading, Fortnight Institute, New York, NY WE: AMEricans, Station Independent Projects, New York, NY 2 Years of Looking, curated by Erik Hanson, New Art Projects, London, England Something Possible Everywhere: Pier 34, NYC 1983-84, 205 Hudson Gallery, New York, NY The Female Gaze, Part Two: Women Look at Men, Cheim & Read, New York, NY Smile!, Shin Gallery, New York, NY Black Sheep Feminism, Dallas Contemporary, Dallas, TX |
2015 | Word by Word, curated by Francesco Bonami, Luxembourg & Dayan, London, England Viewer Discretion…Children of Bataille, curated by Kathleen Cullen, Stux Haller Gallery, New York, NY Verganza (I don’t want to be friends), organized by Gea Polity, Milan, Italy Lust, HVCCA, Peeksil, New York, NY Fertility, presented by Jane Kim, 33 Orchard, New York, NY The Shell (Landscapes, Portaits & Shapes) a show by Eric Troncy, Almine Rech Gallery, Paris, France Eureka! curated by Kendell Geers, Galerist, New York, NY Ten Year Anniversary, Gavlak Palm Beach, CA; Gavlak Los Angeles, CA |
2014 | Rear Window Treatment, Louis B. James, New York, NY A Drawing Show, Matthew Marks Gallery, New York, NY CORPUS, Zacheta National Gallery, Warsaw, Poland A Chromatic Loss, curated by Jeffrey Uslip, Bortolami Gallery, New York, NY Selections from the Sara M. & Michelle Vance Waddell Collection, Art Academy of Cincinnati, OH |
2013 | Independents, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen A Few of My Favorite Things, CB1 Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Skin Trade, P·P·O·W, New York, NY She, Kathleen Cullen Fine Arts, New York, NY the origin of the world/the force of the source/the cause of the vigor, Samson Projects, Boston, MA Sunsets and Pussy, Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York, NY DSM-V, The Future Moynihan Station, New York, NY Jew York, Untitled, New York, NY Sex Money and Power, Maison Particuliere, Brussels, Belgium |
2012 | In The Pink, Joe Sheftel Gallery, New York, NY Dark Garnaal, Galerie Rodolphe Janssen; Villa - Knokke, Knokke - Heist, Belgium Screw You, Susan Inglett Gallery, New York, NY |
2011 | No government No cry, a project by Kendell Geers, CIAP Actuele Kunst, Hasselt, Belgium Invitation to the Voyage, Algus Greenspon, New York, NY Grisaille, Luxembourg and Dayan, New York, NY |
2010 | Lust and Vice: The Seven Deadly Sins From Dürer to Naumann, Kunstmuseum Bern and Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern, Switzerland Visible Vagina, Francis Naumann Gallery, New York, NY Consider the Oyster, James Graham and Sons, New York, NY |
2009 | Centre Pompidou, Paris, France Naked! Size Matters, Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York, NY Revolver, COCO, Vienna, Austria The Line Is A Lonely Hunter - Drawings in New Jerseyy, New Jerseyy, Basel, Switzerland |
2008 | How To Cook A Wolf: Part 1, Dinter Fine Art, New York, NY |
2007 | La Plaissir au Dessin, Musee de Beaux Arts, Lyon, France Handsome Young Doctor, Cubitt Gallery, London, England Into Position, Baurnmarkt, Vienna, Austria |
2006 | Exquisite Corpse - Cadavre Exquis, Mitchell Algus Gallery, New York, NY Uncertain States of America, Serpentine Gallery, London, England |
2005 | La Beauté de L'Enfer, Galerie Rodolphe Janssen, Brussels, Belgium |
2004 | [Untitled/Nudes], Printed Matter, New York, NY Nouvelles Acquisitions, Ouevres Contemporaines, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France |
2003 | It Happened Tomorrow, Biennale de Lyon, Lyon, France |
SELECTED PERMANENT COLLECTIONS
| Allen Art Museum, Oberlin, OH |
| Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY |
| Centre Pompidou, Musee National d’Art Moderne, Paris, France |
| Fondation d’Enterprise Frances, Senlis, France |
| Islip Art Museum, East Islip, NY |
| Museum of the City of New York, New York, NY |
| Shelly & Donald Runin Foundation, New York, NY |
| Stamford Museum, Stamford, CT |
| Zimmereli Art Museum, New Brunswick, NJ |
| 21c Museum Hotels |
PUBLIC INSTALLATIONS
| Weir Farm National Historic Site / National Park Service, Wilton, Connecticut CowParade |
| Islip Art Museum, East Islip, New York |
BIBLIOGRAPHY
2020
2019 | Larouci, Samira, “L’Hashtag Del Cambiamento,” Vogue Italia, October 2020. pp 122. Gingeras, Alison M. “Don’t Fuck With Betty Tompkins,” Playboy, Spring 2020. pp 202-211. The Guardian, “Shunned, seized and now celebrated: the porn paintings of Betty Tompkins,” 6 March 2019. Office Magazine, “The Triumph of Venus,” 23 January 2019. |
2018 | Artnet News, “Artist Betty Tompkins Explains Why the Vile Words Used to Describe Women are Worth Painting,” 14 December 2018. Artcritical, “Speaking Her Mind: Betty Tompkins at P.P.O.W.” 10 December 2018. Elephant, “Will Betty Tompkins Ever Shut Up?” 3 December 2018. Beaux Arts, “L’histoire de l’art #MeToo” 29 November 2018. Artsy, “Betty Tompkins Gives Art History a #MeToo Overhaul,” 23 November, 2018 Widewalls, “Will She Ever Shut Up? Betty Tompkins at PPOW Gallery,” 15 November 2018. Observer, “The Artists Busting the Myth That Big Paintings Sell Better.” 1 March 2018. Art of Choice, “Artist Interview: Betty Tompkins.” 6 February 2018. Widewalls, “Provocative Sexual Art of Betty Tompkins Arrives in Brussels.” 5 January 2018. |
2017 | Historias da Sexualidade, MASP, 2017. Girl Talk HQ, “Feminist Artist Betty Tompkins’ “Women Words” Project Exposes The Way Society Describes Women.” 11 December 2017. T Magazine, “The Feminine Mystique.” November 2017. Telegraph, “What not to miss at Art Basel Miami Beach and beyond.” 30 November 2017. ELLE UK, “Betty Tompkins is the Feminist Artist You Need to Know.” 20 November 2017. Sleek Magazine, “14 Most Instagrammable Works At Frieze London 2017.” October 2017. CNN Arts, “’Sex Work’ exhibition of censored feminist art finds home at Frieze.” 6 October 2017. International New York Times, “A Diverse Selection at Frieze London.” 3 October 2017. Artnet news, “Does Sex Sell When the Work Is Made by Women? Frieze Spotlights Explicit Feminist Art.” 3 October 2017. Hyperallergic, “At Frieze London, Feminism Sells, Paul Chan Slumps, and Nothing Ever Changes.” October 2017. The Art of the Erotic, Phaidon, 2017. FT Weekend Magazine, “Off The Blacklist.” 30 September 2017/ 1 October 2017. Financial Times, “Sex and the Art of Radical Feminism.” 29 September 2017. The Guardian, “Frieze frame: graphic sex and female sexuality under spotlight at art fair.” 19 September 2017. Artnet news, “12 Habits of Highly Effective Artists, From Creative Exercise to Living in Airplane Mode.” 22 August 2017. LA Weekly, “How the Female Artists of “CUNT” Are Reclaiming the Power of a Loaded Word.” 9 August 2017. White Hot Magazine, “Ingrid Dinter on Betty Tompkins ‘Virgins’ at PPOW Gallery.” April 2017. The New York Times, “10 Galleries to Visit Now in Chelsea.” 27 April 2017. Artsy, “The 15 New York Shows You Need to See This April.” 30 March 2017. T Magazine, “Protest Art in the Era of Trump.” 20 February 2017. |
2016 | White Hot Magazine, “’D I C K S’ at FORTNIGHT INSTITUTE.” 28 November 2016. Bedford + Bowery, “Betty Tompkins’s ‘Green Dicks’ Is No Limp Attempt at Smushing the Patriarchy.” 1 November 2016. The Daily Beast, “How Women Really See Men: A Survey of ‘The Female Gaze’ in Art.” 8 August 2016. Los Angeles Times, “How would you describe women? Betty Tompkins asked, then painted 1,000 answers.” 5 August 2016. Artforum, August 2016. Artslant, “In 1,000 Text Paintings, Betty Tompkins Proves Words Are As Provocative As Porn.” 26 July 2016. Blouin Art Info, “Never Afraid: Betty Tompkins Talks to Marilyn Minter About the Long Road to Success.” 18 May 2016. Flavorpill, “5 Things We Learned About Feminist Art Icon Betty Tompkins.” 13 May 2016. Wallpaper, “Girl talk: Betty Tompkins unveils 1,000 text-based paintings at Gavlak LA.” 19 July 2016. New York Magazine, April – May 2016. The New York Times, “Chelsea Galleries, Like a Box of Chocolates.” 21 April 2016. The Art Newspaper, “Betty Tompkins, famous for her Fuck Paintings, now represented by PPOW.” 25 March 2016. Art News, “P.P.O.W Now Represents Betty Tompkins.” 24 March 2016. Hyperallergic, “Performing Slanderous and Sweet Words Said About Women.” 25 March 2016. Observer, “NSFW Feminist Artist Betty Tompkins’ Time is Now.” 22 March 2016. Widewalls, “Radically Sexual Feminist Art We Need To Remember.” 18 March 2016. The Huffington Post, “These Sex-Positive Feminist Artists Were Way Ahead Of Their Time.” 26 February 2016. W Magazine, “Petra Collins and Betty Tompkins: An Intimate Conversation About Women and Art.” 14 February 2016. The Village Voice, “Nothing’s Sacred: Two Exhibitions Clown Around With Convention.” 9 February 2016. Art in America, “Beyond the F Word: An Interview with Betty Tompkins.” 3 February 2016. The Art Newspaper, “Betty Tompkins Paints 1,000 words that describe women – and most of them are horrible.” 29 January 2016. |
2015 | Vulture, “The 10 Best Art Shows of 2015.” 9 December 2015. Artforum, November 2015. Hyperallergic, “A Woman Artist Who Turns Pornography into Painting.” 12 October 2015. Artsy, “Betty Tompkins on Her “Fuck” Paintings, Art Talk, and Being Discovered by Jerry Saltz.” 16 April 2015. |
2012 | Censored, 21 October 2012. Hyperallergic, “Fuck Paintings #NSFW…As If You Needed to Know That.” 30 July 2012. Cincinatti Art Snob, “Art Word: Betty Tompkins.” 21 June 2012. Artinfo.com Modern Painters Daily, “Let’s Talk About (Painting) Sex: A Q&A With Betty Tompkins.” 30 March 2012. Daily Canvas, “5 Minutes With Rodolphe Janssen.” 22 March 2012. New York Magazine, “Shades of Gray.” 30 January 2012. New Yorker, “Grisaille.” 2 January 2012. |
2010 | City Arts, “Consider the Oyster.” 13 October 2010. |
2006 | Spike Art Quarterly Issue #9, “Interview with Betty Tompkins.” 2006. |
2005 | Art in America, “Betty Tompkins at Mitchell Algus.” 1 January 2005. |
2004 | Contemporary Magazine, “No Sex Please.” 2004. |