After a successful tour, the ‘Marisol: A Retrospective’ exhibition is making its last stop at the Dallas Museum of Art, where it will be on view until July 6.
This exhibition pays tribute to Marisol, an artist who captured the imagination of the Pop art world in the 1960s, and whose legacy has faded in recent years, overshadowed by contemporaries like Andy Warhol.
Born María Sol Escobar in 1930 to affluent Venezuelan parents in Paris, Marisol’s childhood was marked by extensive travel among Venezuela, the United States, and Europe.
The tragic loss of her mother to suicide when Marisol was just 11 years old led her to retreat into silence.
Even after she resumed speaking in her early twenties, her enigmatic aura as a woman of few words continued to shape her public persona.
Marisol studied art at the Académie Julian and the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris before relocating to New York at the age of 20, supported financially by her father.
Despite her ambitions for formal education, she ultimately found that the wealth of inspiration available in the museums and libraries of New York served as her true education.
As noted by Cathleen Chaffee, Chief Curator of the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and curator of the retrospective, “She said in the end that although she anticipated going to university, the museums of New York and the libraries of New York were her university.”
Following her death in 2016, Marisol left behind her TriBeCa loft, complete with an extensive collection of her artworks and documents, as a bequest to the Buffalo AKG Art Museum.
The Dallas exhibition features 250 works and documents sourced from this bequest alongside loans from prestigious institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
Curated by Dr. Anna Katherine Brodbeck, the retrospective highlights Marisol’s early sculptures from the 1950s, which drew influence from American folk art and pre-Columbian sculpture.
Critics often fixated on her striking beauty, sometimes overshadowing her artistic achievements.
Marisol resented the assumption that her Latin background exempted her from criticism in the context of her work, pushing back with a fierce defiance.
“You call me folk because you are prejudiced against my Latin American background. Folk you!” she once retorted to a critic.
In 1958, Marisol became disenchanted with the art world and moved to Rome.
When she returned to New York a few years later, she found inspiration from discarded hat forms at a friend’s party, which served as the catalyst for much of her work in the 1960s.
According to Chaffee, “Just that simple thing – these hat forms – became the core, the jumping off point for all the work she would make in the 1960s.”
As one of the most photographed women in art, Marisol’s Self-Portrait showcased multiple heads, feet, and legs, exploring the theme of a multifaceted self-identity.
Chaffee stated, “At the core of this work is this sense of self that is de-centered, multiple, and is not necessarily unique or singular; the sense of self that is perhaps something that is constantly being created as opposed to a narrative throughline from birth to death.”
In another series, Marisol collaborated with a photographer in her studio, collecting images that illustrated typical American life, leading to the creation of Baby Boy and Baby Girl, which offered a critique of family and societal norms.
“What she is doing is distilling this American form of self-representation through photography. It is a very American version of Pop art that no one else is really taking up in the same way,” Chaffee remarked.
The exhibition features Marisol’s significant work, The Party, which serves as a commentary on the isolation and emptiness of high society gatherings, showcasing 15 figures, all bearing Marisol’s likeness in various forms.
Chaffee described the piece, stating, “It shows 15 figures, all of whom have Marisol’s face in one way or another, at a party that is perhaps the most fun to look at but the least fun to go to.”
The turbulence of the 1960s prompted Marisol to withdraw again, this time taking up scuba diving, which became a vital part of her identity in the 1970s.
For Marisol, the ocean represented a peaceful sanctuary, offering silence that deeply resonated with her.
Chaffee explains, “The silence underwater that she found was really impactful to her. She found a great sense of peace underwater and spending time with animals.”
During the 1970s, her art began to reflect her views on violence and the animal kingdom, often merging human forms with symbols of violence.
Despite experiencing a decline in critical acclaim later in her life, Marisol continued to create art, collaborating with dance companies and developing public monuments.
Even during her battle with Alzheimer’s disease, Marisol remained dedicated to drawing, showcasing her indomitable spirit.
Through her art, she continues to communicate even in the silence of death.
image source from：https://www.nbcdfw.com/entertainment/the-scene/marisol-a-retrospective-on-display-at-the-dallas-museum-of-art/3857878/
