How Much A Heart Can Hold invites the viewer to explore Petah Coyne’s work as a multifaceted and long-running conversation about the complexity and creativity of women.
It is divided into three sections: Women’s Work, Women’s Relationships, and Women Obscured & Transformed. Originally intended as an exhibition organizational structure that avoided the pull of a chronological arrangement, it is now clear that all the works reside in each of the categories, and now these three threads weave and plait together as part of a more nuanced understanding not only of Coyne’s oeuvre, but also how a single artist’s work is intertwined and in dialogue with friends and creatives both near in time and space, and long past or far afield.
The exhibition was made possible in part by support from The Anonymous Fund and the Joen Greenwood Fund. Additional generous support for the catalogue comes from Stephen and Pamela Hootkin.
WOMEN’S WORK
The phrase “women’s work” frequently connotes an attempt to categorize certain professions or occupations or hobbies as lesser. But indeed, without women’s labor, the world as we understand it would cease to exist. This theme is centered around recognizing and exploring the creative output of women in all fields: women as creators.
Except where noted, artwork is by Petah Coyne, American b. 1953.
Untitled #1378 (Zelda Fitzgerald), 1997–2013
Specially-formulated wax, pigment, silk flowers, candles, paint, white pearl-headed hat pins, artificial pearl strands, cast-wax statuary figure, cast-wax hand sculptures, ribbon, knitting needles, steel rods, chicken-wire fencing, washers, fabric, thread, wire, horse hair, Masonite, plywood, drywall, plaster, glue, filament, rubber, steel, wood and metal screws, maple, laminated Luxar® | Chazen Museum of Art, 2018.39a-b
Untitled #1568 (Zora Neale Hurston), 2023–2024
Specially-formulated wax, silk flowers, pigment, paint, fabricated steel understructure, thread-covered wire, pearl-headed hat pins, rubber, eye bolts, screws, spray paint, acrylic paint, plastic, wood, velvet, aluminum corner brackets, cable, cable nuts, cable sleeves, turnbuckles, quick-link shackles, chain | Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Lelong & Co., New York
Untitled #1411 (Jane Austen), 2016–2019
Specially-formulated wax, pigment, candles, ribbons, chicken-wire fencing, wire, steel rods, thread-covered wire cable, cable nuts, 3/8-inch Grade 30 proof coil chain, quick-link shackles, jaw-to-jaw swivel, silk Duchesse satin, Velcro, thread, paper towels, plastic | Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Lelong & Co., New York
Untitled #1408 (The Lost Landscape), 2015–2018
Specially-formulated wax, pigment, silk flowers, waxed taxidermy, tree branches, chandelier, synthetic feathers, paint, black pearl-headed hat pins, tape, chicken-wire fencing, wire, steel, weights, thread-covered wire, cable, cable nuts, cable crimps, quick-link shackles, jaw-to-jaw swivel, silk/rayon velvet, 3/8-inch Grade 30 proof coil chain, Velcro, thread, plastic | Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Lelong & Co., New York
WOMEN OBSCURED & TRANSFORMED
Petah Coyne’s work calls to mind the notion of pentimento. The concept is commonly applied to older paintings, in which previous brushwork or early decisions by the artist become visible over time through the final layers of paint. It’s a visible representation of the history of artistic decision-making. It is also an homage, a recognition that the women she is in dialogue with have frequently been obscured, sometimes by choice, often by circumstances or relationships. Thinking more broadly, what is an artwork but a pentimento of decisions and reversals, of experiments and layers of work and meaning, that continues to acquire more as it leaves the artist’s studio where time and history transform and nuance layers of meaning.
Untitled #1289 (The Year of Magical Thinking), 2008–2017
Silk/rayon velvet, cotton batting, felt, thread, wood, anti-static peanuts, chicken-wire fencing, wire, screws, washers, hanging brackets, Oz clips | Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Lelong & Co., New York
Untitled #918 (Kawabata), 1997–1998
Horse hair, plaster statuary figure, acrylic polymer emulsion, acrylic paint, CelluClay, glue, rice paper, hair dye, pigment, wire, screws, thread-covered wire | Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Lelong & Co., New York
Untitled #720 (Eguchi’s Ghost),1992–2007
Shredded 1950’s Airstream camper, brass wire, phosphorus wire, steel wire, chicken-wire fencing, cable, cable nuts, PVC pipe, PVC sockets, PVC socket elbows, plastic, paper towels, silk Duchesse satin, thread, Velcro, jaw-to-jaw shackles, quick link shackles, 3/8-inch Grade 30 proof coil chain | Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Lelong & Co., New York
Untitled #1007 (Susan’s Hem I, Bridal Series), edition 6 of 7, 2001
Silver gelatin print | Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Lelong & Co., New York
Untitled #1039 (Bridal Series), edition 2 of 7, 2001
Silver gelatin print | Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Lelong & Co., New York
Untitled #1017 (Raphaelite Feet Dancing, The Debs Series), edition 6 of 7, 2001
Silver gelatin print | Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Lelong & Co., New York
Petah Coyne and Kathy Grove
The Real Guerrillas: The Early Years, edition 1 of 7, 2015–2016
Archival pigment print | Courtesy of the artists and Galerie Lelong & Co., New York
See in-gallery guide for complete information on The Real Guerrillas.
WOMEN’S RELATIONSHIPS
The relationships women have with each other, with their partners, and with other creatives often result in rich explorations. Petah Coyne has personal relationships with a few of the “subjects,” but more often the relationship is grounded in how she discovered and allowed the creative work of others to influence and inspire her own.
Untitled #1379 (The Doctor’s Wife), 1997–2018
Specially-formulated wax, pigment, silk flowers, silk/rayon velvet, tassels, Cast-wax statuary figures, human hair, black pearl-headed hat pins, thread-covered wire, wire, thread, felt, cotton batting, anti-static peanuts, chicken-wire fencing, wood, masonite, steel, acrylic paint, nails, bolts, screws, washers, wing nuts, latches, 3/8-inch Grade 30 proof coil chain, cable, cable nuts, shackles, Velcro, plastic | Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Lelong & Co., New York
Untitled #1375 (No Reason Except Love: Portrait of a Marriage), 2011–2012
Specially-formulated wax, pigment, silk flowers, taxidermy, chandelier, candles, ribbons, black sand from pig iron casting, resin, paint, black pearl-headed hat pins, chicken-wire fencing, wire, cable, cable nuts, quick-link shackles, jaw-to-jaw swivel, silk/rayon velvet, 3/8-inch Grade 30 proof coil chain, Velcro, thread, plastic, metal | Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Lelong & Co., New York