One word that kept coming to mind as I thought about the shows below is “visionary.” Whether it’s reimagining the ways that women are discussed in literature or centered in photography, or working toward HIV prevention and systemic oppression of LGBTQ+ people, the artists featured have all used their platforms in innovative ways. That most of these shows approach art from a feminist perspective is an added bonus. Chloe Dzubilo’s drawings are correctives to the ingrained homophobia and transphobia that have long hindered HIV care, while Julia Margaret Cameron made women the stars of her photography. And we can thank Jane Austen for creating a central space for women’s stories in modern literature. Don’t miss these shows, or the Art Students League of New York’s 150th anniversary exhibition, where so many visionary artists got their start! —Natalie Haddad, Reviews Editor
Chloe Dzubilo, The Prince George Drawings
Participant Inc., 116 Elizabeth Street, Floor One, Lower East Side, Manhattan
Through July 20
“Dzubilo’s accounts dissolve the distance between life and art and present viewers with her everyday experiences of discrimination, disenfranchisement, and living with a deadly disease” —NH
Shaping American Art: A Celebration of the Art Students League of New York at 150
Art Students League, 215 West 57th Street, Suite 1, Midtown, Manhattan
Through August 17
“The League’s influence is clearly felt, and the exhibition is both celebratory and awe-inspiring.” —Lisa Yin Zhang
A Lively Mind: Jane Austen at 250
Arresting Beauty: Julia Margaret Cameron
Morgan Library & Museum, 225 Madison Avenue, Murray Hill, Manhattan
Through September 14
“Both exhibitions gesture toward the privilege and power these women held within their social worlds, yet I am left wondering about the perspectives of marginalized women of their eras.” —Alexandra M. Thomas
