New York artist Audrey Flack, a pioneering figure in the Photorealism movement, passed away on June 28th at 93 in Southhampton, New York. Her death was confirmed by her former dealer, Louis K. Meisel Gallery, and her current representing gallery, Hollis Taggart.
“We mourn the loss of a true artistic legend who left an indelible mark on the history of American art,” said Hollis Taggart, founder of the eponymous gallery. “Audrey’s boundless creativity defined her career, spanning seven decades, constantly innovating and searching for new ways of expression.”
Born in New York City in 1931, Flack pursued her education at Cooper Union before earning a scholarship to the Yale School of Art, where she studied under geometric abstractionist Josef Albers. Immersed in the downtown New York art scene, she associated herself with notable Abstract Expressionists like Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning. However, Flack’s path took a different direction as she became a key figure in the Photorealism movement during the 1960s.
Flack’s work in Photorealism often involved creating large-scale still-life paintings based on her own photographs and news clippings. Her 1964 painting Kenndy Motorcade is frequently cited as one of her earliest examples of working in a Photorealist style. Throughout her body of work, Flack focused on feminine objects, such as jewelry and makeup, as seen in Leonardo’s Lady (1974), a still-life painting acquired by the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Flack also took an interest in mythological and religious iconography. Her focus on myth became particularly prominent in her sculpture practice, which began in the 1980s and aimed to subvert the prevalence of male-centric statues. One key example is her 2006 golden statue The Recording Angel, which stands outside the Nashville Symphony.
In recent years, Flack transitioned from Photorealism to a style she described as “Post-Pop Baroque,” incorporating themes of female empowerment along with religious, political, and pop culture elements. These works, including Self Portrait with Flaming Heart (2022), were recently presented in a show titled “With Darkness Comes Stars” at Hollis Taggart earlier this year Her work is featured in several collections at major museums, including the Museum of Modern Art, the MET, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, among others.
This year, Flack released her memoir, With Darkness Came Stars, tracing her career, personal stories of abuse from her first marriage, and her experiences raising a nonverbal daughter with autism. An exhibition of her recent works, “Audrey Flack NOW,” is scheduled to be displayed at the Parrish Museum of Art in Water Mill, New York, from October 13, 2024, to April 6, 2025.
