Ana Wieder-Blank is a contemporary artist working in oil painting, ceramic sculpture, installation, and performance. Her current project is a modern re-interpretation of world mythology from a distinctly feminist perspective, centered on the definitive stories of womyn protagonists such as Greek demigoddess Persephone and Dinah from The Book of Genesis. Employing bold colors and hefty layers of buttery oil paint mixed with impasto paste and cold wax, she re-contextualizes classic tales about rape, marginalization, and identity for modern audiences, delving into each character’s transformation from child to victim to activist. She alters, distorts, and extends their narratives to create contemporary political allegory. In her current exhibition ‘The Fairytale Protesters’ at Honey Ramka, paintings such as Badass Womyn (Dinah, Kali, and Persephone) Tear Down the Statues of Murderers and Rapists reference recent historical events including the Charlottesville white nationalist rally, the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, and Dr. Christine Blasey-Ford’s testimony during the Kavanaugh hearings.
As explained by Wieder-Blank: “The Fairytale Protesters uses characters from Torah mythology, Greco-Roman mythology, Hindu mythology, and Eastern European fairytales to explore ideas of otherness and community. These characters are strangers in their narratives and their bodies; isolated by gender, belief systems, queer sexuality, and untypical bodies. They are lesbians, trans, and genderqueer, fat and differently-abled, mutilated, and heroic, bruised, and bloodied in service of their cause. Together they are a powerhouse of protest, united by the things that isolated them.”
‘The Fairytale Protesters’ is on view at Honey Ramka Gallery now through February 24th.
Ana Wieder-Blank received an MFA from Pratt Institute and a BA from American University. She has exhibited nationally, and mounted three solo exhibitions with Honey Ramka Gallery in Bushwick. She is the recipient of multiple residencies and fellowships including a Nancy Graves Foundation Fellowship for her 2016 residency at the Millay Colony. She has been a resident at CalArts, Vermont Studio Center, Alfred University and more. She has received reviews and interviews at The Brooklyn Rail, W magazine, James Kalm Rough Cut, Tablet magazine and more. Ana Wieder-Blank was a 2016 Joan Mitchell Grant Finalist. She is a Fellow of the Sharpe-Walentas Studio Program.
