‘Grace Weaver: 11 Women’, published after the exhibition of the same name at James Cohan, New York in 2021.

In the summer of 2021, Grace Weaver’s work takes an abrupt turn. With urging immediacy, the painterly act comes to the fore.

Her paintings become bulky and pastose, simple. Her motifs are not merely coloured, instead, they emerge out of colour itself.

In her New York studio, she paints the archetypal series ‘11 Women’ not with a voyeuristic distance, but up close and personal.

As unsettled as Weaver’s own feelings in face of the strange new world of a global pandemic, the eleven female figures turn outward their innermost.

Their bearings are robust, yet surrounded by litter and traffic cones, they appear vulnerable and doubtful – as if Baselitz’s staggering ‘Heroes’ encountered Maria Lassing’s ‘Body awareness Paintings.’

On canvas, the asphalt grey of the street becomes a dark mirror for both the experienced and imagined bodily sensibilities of Weaver and countless other women.

The ‘11 Women’ confidently demonstrate what being a “basic girl” can mean despite all current insecurities.

Co-published with Friedrichs Foundation.

Weaver has recently exhibited at Neus Museum Nürnberg, with a solo presentation of new work.