This fully illustrated monograph marks the occasion of the first European survey of Nicola L. (1932–2018).
Often discussed in the context of
Pop Art,
Nouveau Réalisme, activism,
feminism, and
design, this is the first in-depth exploration of the multi-layered and expansive nature of her extraordinary practice, which also encompassed cosmology, environmental concerns, spirituality, political protest, and sexuality.
With new scholarly essays translated into English, French, Italian, and German, and supplementary texts on major bodies of work,
Nicola L. I Am The Last Woman Object offers novel perspectives on the artist's practice from some of the exhibitions' curators: Gina Buenfeld-Murley, Martin Clark,
Géraldine Gourbe, and Leonie Radine. Together, they reflect on her life in Paris, Ibiza, Beirut, and New York, situating her within the politics and the social movements of her time. They also bring her work fully into the present by placing it in the context of the social, political, and ecological challenges facing the world today, thus enabling the resonance of her extraordinary practice to continue more than half a century after she began working. Taken together, the texts reveal Nicola L.'s remarkable and lifelong commitment to art, creativity, and radical subversion, presenting a long-overdue appraisal of a practice that straddled many movements and styles in twentieth-century art but resolutely defied categorization.
Published on the occasion of the eponymous exhibition at Camden Art Centre, London;
Frac Bretagne, Rennes, France; Kunsthalle Wien – Stadt Wien Kunst GmbH, Vienna, and Museion – Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Bolzano/Bozen
Nicola L (Nicola Leuthe, 1932-2018) is a French artist. She is renowned for the
feminist approach of her work on the human body, conceived notably at the
Chelsea Hotel for over 35 years.
