Jessica Silverman
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Art Basel 2025

Art Basel 2025

June 19-22, 2025

Jessica Silverman is proud to present rare works by Judy Chicago (b. 1939, Chicago, IL), a pioneering artist fearless in her aesthetic experimentation and pursuit of women’s freedom. Chicago is best known for The Dinner Party, an ambitious multi-media installation which toured a dozen cities from 1979-1984 and is now on permanent display at the Brooklyn Museum, New York. After acclaimed museum solo retrospectives in California, New York, Britain, France, and Germany, the entire oeuvre of the 85-year-old artist is being re-examined and celebrated. As the Financial Times declares, “The feminist artist finally takes her deserved place in the modern canon.”

As part of Art Basel Feature on the ground floor of the Messe, the booth (D16) will showcase significant works made before 1999. The exhibition includes: feminist minimalist abstractions from the 1960s; porcelain “test plates” for the Dinner Party and a unique series of annotated Polaroids about Chicago’s Atmosphere Earthworks from the 1970s; a rare Birth Project tapestry from the 1980s; and color pencil drawings from the artist’s “Thinking about Trees” series from the 1990s.

INSTALLATION VIEW
SELECTED WORKS
ARTIST BIO
OTHER EXHIBITIONS

INSTALLATION VIEW

Installation View Installation View Installation View Installation View Installation View

SELECTED WORKS

Judy Chicago
Large Dome Drawing Blue/Green, 1968-1969
Prismacolor on paper on board
58 x 58 x 2 1/4 inches / 147.3 x 147.3 x 5.7 cm
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Judy Chicago, Large Dome Drawing Blue/Green
Judy Chicago
Dome Drawing #4, 1968
Prismacolor on paper
27 1/2 x 27 1/2 inches / 69.8 x 69.8 cm
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Judy Chicago, Dome Drawing #4
Chicago’s iconic 1960s Domes, Whirling Donuts, and Flesh Fans radiate with emotion and color. They serve as both a critique of Minimalism's limited palette and rigid linearity, as well as an exploration of jouissance or female sexual pleasure.
Judy Chicago
Three Star Cunts, 1969
Sprayed acrylic lacquer on acrylic
28 x 28 x 1 1/2 inches / 71.1 x 71.1 x 3.8 cm
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Judy Chicago, Three Star Cunts
Judy Chicago
Silver Doorways Proof C, 1972
Hand-colored lithograph with Prismacolor and collage
27 3/8 x 27 3/8 x 1 1/2 inches / 69.5 x 69.5 x 3.8 cm
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Judy Chicago, Silver Doorways Proof C
Judy Chicago
Donut Drawing #7, 1968
Prismacolor on paper
27 1/2 x 27 1/2 inches / 69.8 x 69.8 cm
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Judy Chicago, Donut Drawing #7
Judy Chicago
Three Star Cunts, 1969
Sprayed acrylic lacquer on acrylic
28 x 28 x 1 1/2 inches / 71.1 x 71.1 x 3.8 cm
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Judy Chicago, Three Star Cunts
Judy Chicago
Silver Doorways Proof C, 1972
Hand-colored lithograph with Prismacolor and collage
27 3/8 x 27 3/8 x 1 1/2 inches / 69.5 x 69.5 x 3.8 cm
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Judy Chicago, Silver Doorways Proof C
Judy Chicago
Donut Drawing #7, 1968
Prismacolor on paper
27 1/2 x 27 1/2 inches / 69.8 x 69.8 cm
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Judy Chicago, Donut Drawing #7
Their ombre shading creates a three-dimensional movement, sometimes suggestive of spirited pirouettes and other times evoking a soft void, but always pulsing with orgasmic vibration. Prefiguring her famed “central core” images, these voluptuous wall works are “odes to women and their power,” as Beaux Arts magazine put it.
Judy Chicago
Model For Flesh Garden, 1971
Sprayed acrylic lacquer on acrylic
30 x 30 inches / 76.2 x 76.2 cm
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Judy Chicago, Model For Flesh Garden
Judy Chicago
Model for Fresno Fan #6, 1971
Sprayed acrylic lacquer on acrylic
16 1/4 x 31 3/8 x 2 inches / 41.3 x 79.7 x 5.1 cm
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Judy Chicago, Model for Fresno Fan #6
An environmentalist for over fifty years, Chicago’s 1960s and 70s earthworks had such a light touch on the land that they blew away with the wind. Titled Atmospheres, these works used fireworks and non-toxic colored smoke to gently adorn Mother Earth. Northwest Coast Atmospheres (1970-1975) is a unique piece that combines eight Polaroid photographs taken during a road trip the artist took during the summer of 1970 with thoughtful reflections about the trip and her land art written in 1975.
Judy Chicago
Northwest Coast Atmospheres, 1970-1975
Photography and graphite on board; Photo by Lloyd Hamrol
Installation size: 41 x 60 inches / 53.3 x 152.5 cm
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Judy Chicago, Northwest Coast Atmospheres
The Dinner Party comprises not just one piece, but at least 39, as that is the number of women honored with a seat at the table. Carefully selected for their strength, intelligence, power, and virtue, these historical figures demonstrate that women have been striving for empowerment and self-expression for millennia.
Judy Chicago
Virginia Woolf Test Plate, #1, 1975-1978
China paint on porcelain
14 1/2 x 14 1/2 x 4 inches / 36.8 x 36.8 x 10.2 cm
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Judy Chicago, Virginia Woolf Test Plate, #1
Judy Chicago
Elizabeth Blackwell Test Plate #9, 1975-1978
China paint on porcelain
14.5 x 14.5 x 3 inches / 36.8 x 36.8 x 7.6 cm
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Judy Chicago, Elizabeth Blackwell Test Plate #9
Judy Chicago
Eleanor of Aquitaine Test Plate #1, 1975-1978
Bisque porcelain
15 x 15 x 3 inches / 38.1 x 38.1 x 7.6 cm
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Judy Chicago, Eleanor of Aquitaine Test Plate #1
Judy Chicago
Mary Wollstonecraft Test Plate #5, 1975-1978
Bisque porcelain
14 3/4 x 14 3/4 x 3 inches / 37.5 x 37.5 x 7.6 cm
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Judy Chicago, Mary Wollstonecraft Test Plate #5
Judy Chicago
Hrosvitha Test Plate #2, 1975-1978
Glazed porcelain
14 x 14 x 2 inches / 35.6 x 35.6 x 5.1 cm
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Judy Chicago, Hrosvitha Test Plate #2
Judy Chicago
Eleanor of Aquitaine Test Plate #1, 1975-1978
Bisque porcelain
15 x 15 x 3 inches / 38.1 x 38.1 x 7.6 cm
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Judy Chicago, Eleanor of Aquitaine Test Plate #1
Judy Chicago
Mary Wollstonecraft Test Plate #5, 1975-1978
Bisque porcelain
14 3/4 x 14 3/4 x 3 inches / 37.5 x 37.5 x 7.6 cm
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Judy Chicago, Mary Wollstonecraft Test Plate #5
Judy Chicago
Hrosvitha Test Plate #2, 1975-1978
Glazed porcelain
14 x 14 x 2 inches / 35.6 x 35.6 x 5.1 cm
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Judy Chicago, Hrosvitha Test Plate #2
The booth will include test plates representing:
  • Hrotsvitha (c. 935–973), a Medieval poet, playwright, and historian considered the first woman writer from the German world.
  • Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204), a clever political mover, who was the Queen of France at 13 and then the Queen of England at 30.
  • Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797), a philosopher whose book A Vindication of the Rights of Woman is the foundation of English-language feminism.
  • Elizabeth Blackwell (1821-1910), who fought gruesome, horrific discrimination to become the first woman to receive a medical degree in the US and UK.
  • Virginia Woolf (1882-1941), an influential English novelist whose works include Mrs Dalloway, Orlando, and A Room of One’s Own.
  • Isabella D’Este (1474-1539), an important diplomat, arts patron, and fashion icon of the Italian Renaissance, is represented by a detailed color drawing of her final plate.
Judy Chicago
Isabella d'Este as a Majolica Plate, 1976
Prismacolor on Somerset Paper
16 5/8 x 19 3/4 inches / 42.2 x 50.2 cm
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Judy Chicago, Isabella d'Este as a Majolica Plate
Judy Chicago
China-painting test plate, Raised Paste/Raised Enamel/Flown Enamel, 1972-1974
China paint on porcelain
Framed: 16 1/2 x 16 1/2 x 3 inches / 41.9 x 41.9 x 7.6 cm ; Diameter: 10.25 inches
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Judy Chicago, China-painting test plate, Raised Paste/Raised Enamel/Flown Enamel
Judy Chicago
Childbirth in America: Crowning Quilt 7/9, 1982
Quilting, embroidery and petit point over drawing and hand-painting on batik fabric
36 x 52 1/2 x 2 inches / 91.4 x 133.3 x 5.1 cm
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Judy Chicago, Childbirth in America: Crowning Quilt 7/9
While images of the Madonna and child are ubiquitous, depictions of the natural miracle of childbirth are uncommon. With the Birth Project, Chicago aimed to supplant Genesis with a new feminist visual mythology of creation. In Childbirth in America: Crowning Quilt 7/9 (1982), a primordial mother merges with the landscape. Her hair is splayed as if it were the sun’s rays. Her toes are deeply rooted. Her body radiates wave-like energy, rippling with batik electricity. The crown of the baby’s head resembles a star in the center of a form that is both heart-shaped and phallic. This Earth Mother is empowered yet vulnerable, sacred and primal, cosmic and grounded.
Judy Chicago
Dancing Trees, 1995
Mixed media on Magnani paper
24 3/4 x 32 3/4 x 1 1/2 inches / 62.9 x 83.2 x 3.8 cm
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Judy Chicago, Dancing Trees
Judy Chicago
Ghost Trees in the Gulf of Mexico, 1996
Mixed media on Magnani paper
24 3/4 x 32 3/4 x 1 1/2 inches / 62.9 x 83.2 x 3.8 cm
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Judy Chicago, Ghost Trees in the Gulf of Mexico
Judy Chicago
Study for Joy Trees - Pencil & Paint, 1996
Mixed media on Magnani paper
24 3/4 x 32 3/4 x 1 1/2 inches / 62.9 x 83.2 x 3.8 cm
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Judy Chicago, Study for Joy Trees - Pencil & Paint
Judy Chicago
Dancing Trees, 1995
Mixed media on Magnani paper
24 3/4 x 32 3/4 x 1 1/2 inches / 62.9 x 83.2 x 3.8 cm
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Judy Chicago, Dancing Trees
Judy Chicago
Ghost Trees in the Gulf of Mexico, 1996
Mixed media on Magnani paper
24 3/4 x 32 3/4 x 1 1/2 inches / 62.9 x 83.2 x 3.8 cm
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Judy Chicago, Ghost Trees in the Gulf of Mexico
Judy Chicago
Study for Joy Trees - Pencil & Paint, 1996
Mixed media on Magnani paper
24 3/4 x 32 3/4 x 1 1/2 inches / 62.9 x 83.2 x 3.8 cm
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Judy Chicago, Study for Joy Trees - Pencil & Paint
Trees are the queens of the plant world. They serve as engines of oxygen and, due to their longevity, are regarded as bearers of wisdom in various religions, including the Abrahamic foundational text, Genesis. In the 1990s, Chicago created colored drawings on paper to capture the beauty and dignity of trees.
Jessica Silverman’s solo presentation at Art Basel showcases an artist whose market lags behind her art historical stature. Few artists have contributed significantly to so many different artistic movements, including minimalism, light and space, op art, land art, the folk wing of pop art, activist art, and crafts such as ceramics, embroidery, and quilting. As a feminist and critical postmodernist, Chicago has made her mark on the history of twentieth-century art, not to mention the narrative of women’s liberation.

ARTIST BIO

Judy Chicago (b. 1939, Chicago, IL) is a pioneering artist who has made an irrevocable impact on art history. Over the past five years, she has enjoyed critically acclaimed solo retrospectives at the Kunsthalle Recklinghausen, Germany; LUMA Foundation, Arles, France; Serpentine, London; New Museum, New York; de Young Museum, San Francisco; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C., and ICA Miami. Her works are collected by many museums, including British Museum and Tate, London; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Brooklyn Museum, New York; National Gallery, Washington D.C.; the Getty, Hammer Museum, LACMA, and MOCA LA in Los Angeles; Art Institute of Chicago and MCA Chicago; SFMOMA and the de Young Museum, San Francisco, CA; and over 25 university art museums. Since 2020, Chicago has collaborated with the international fashion house Dior on set design for Couture shows and Lady Dior handbags, with further projects to come. Chicago lives and works in Belen, New Mexico.

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