Jeanne Silverthorne

Exploring expression outside language, what it is like to be speechless matter, was the impetus for a large-scale female fertility figure loosely based on the Venus of Willendorf. In this sculpture the female body is reduced to its essential components, a fantasy of the mother's body with reproductive organs swollen and dominant. This is woman trapped in biology, encased in grotesque heaps of flesh, with nothing on, nor on her mind. In fact, she has almost no head at all; it seems to have atrophied, like all the rest of her unused appendages. Without arms, legs, or language, she is without agency, but since she is placed on a pedestal (actually a rubber dolly with wheels), she could, if inclined, slip away.

About the Artist:
Her work has been exhibited at the ICA in Philadelphia, Mckee Gallery, New York, Galerie Nathalie Obadia, Paris and Shoshana Wayne Gallery, Santa Monica, California. In 1996 she was the recipient of the "Anonymous Was A Woman Award."

Introductory Essay by Jo Anna Isaak / Pictures from the Exhibition / List of Works / Excerpts of Essays included in the Catalog / History of the Exhibition / How to order a print copy of the catalog / About the Curator / Website Credits