Love Is Forever, Isn’t It? presents one of the most comprehensive surveys of Dorothy Iannone’s prolific body of work, showcased at the Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp, Belgium.
The artistic practice by Dorothy Iannone spanned paintings, artists’ books, video installations, sculptures, drawings, and sound works. In her visual and writing oeuvre, she created a unique relationship between text, image, audio, and sculptural objects, emphasising their narrative and fictional dimensions.
The primary focus of this project is to rewrite the context of Iannone’s work, specifically examining its intrinsic performative nature, which has been scarcely investigated until now.
The exhibition explores novelistic conventions, narrative threads, relationships between words and images, as well as biographical elements within her creations.
Iannone examined topics related to female sexuality, which has led to her work being censored on multiple occasions. In her vibrant oeuvre, she explored feelings and emotions, creating an erotic iconography largely inspired by non-Western and Buddhist imagery.
Throughout her career, Iannone’s art has been deeply autobiographical, reflecting her experiences and relationships. Her work often features vibrant, colourful, and explicit depictions of sexuality and the human body, exploring themes of love, ecstasy, and the pursuit of personal freedom. Her bold and unapologetic approach to sexuality has occasionally led to censorship and exclusion.
he passionately described her intimate friendships and relationships with her muses, artists, and lovers. Though she shared personal and artistic associations with Fluxus, Dorothy Iannone never considered herself part of the movement. Undoubtedly, her transdisciplinary and multifaceted practice establishes a unique dialogue with the neo-avant-garde movements of the 1960s, 70s, and 80s.
The exhibition takes viewers on an emancipatory journey towards unconventional love, the celebration of matriarchy, and Eros. As she eloquently stated in one of her texts: “When I painted and wrote and sang and filmed my message, one might call it, it filled all of my mind. And nothing gave me more pleasure than expressing it (almost). If, in any way, I have helped people to come closer to themselves, that would mean a lot to me.”
The exhibition runs through to January 21, 2024.
All images courtesy MUHKA.
