The downtown New York art scene of the 1960s was dominated by male artists whose work had a characteristic clean, static Minimalist look. Eva Hesse’s sculptures were different: Though mainly employing latex, fiberglass and plastics as materials, they were messy, complex, organic, out-of-control. Art critic Arthur Danto described her work as “full of life, of Eros, even of comedy.”
Hesse died too young – in 1970, at age 34 – to enjoy the level of critical regard that would eventually attach to her oeuvre, but today she is seen as a pioneer of Post-Minimalism. Drawing on the artist’s journals, correspondence and interviews with her contemporaries, a new documentary simply titled Eva Hesse was recently released, directed by Marcie Begleiter. The film’s producer, Karen Shapiro, will be on hand for a discussion this Saturday, January 7 at Upstate Films in Rhinebeck. The screening begins at 1 p.m.
Tickets cost $12 general admission, $10 for seniors, $8 for students and members of Upstate Films and the Woodstock Artists’ Association & Museum. Upstate Films is located at 6415 Montgomery Street (Route 9) in Rhinebeck. For more information, call (845) 876-2515 or visit https://upstatefilms.org/coming-soon/eva-hesse.
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