Harmony Hammond in Conversation with Christian Waguespack

Video (57:13): Openly lesbian, American painter Harmony Hammond discusses her work curating the Out West exhibition in 1999 at Plan B Evolving Arts in Santa Fe, bringing together 41 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and two-spirit artists from the Southwest. – Recorded on May 22, 2024, Head of Curatorial Affairs and Curator of 20th Century Art, Christian Waguespackthe’s conversation with Harmony Hammond takes place in “Out West: Gay and Lesbian Artists in the Southwest, 1900-1969” that runs through September 2, 2024 at The New Mexico Museum of Art.

Harmony Hammond

Harmony Hammond is an influential artist, educator, writer, and independent curator, known for her pivotal role in the feminist art movement of the early 1970s in New York. She co-founded A.I.R., the first women’s cooperative art gallery, and “Heresies: A Feminist Publication on Art & Politics.” Hammond moved to northern New Mexico in 1984 and taught at the University of Arizona from 1989 to 2006. Her early work merged gender politics with post-minimalist materials and processes, blending painting and sculpture.

Over the past two decades, Hammond’s near-monochrome paintings have engaged with modernist abstraction while incorporating political content. Using materials like burlap, straps, grommets, and rope, her work explores themes of connection, restraint, and healing.

Hammond is represented by Alexander Gray Associates, NYC, where she has had multiple solo exhibitions. Her work has been featured in significant shows, including the 2024 Whitney Biennial and the upcoming “Woven Histories: Textiles and Modern Abstraction” at the National Gallery of Art. She has also been part of major exhibitions like “Women in Abstraction” and “Wack! Art and Feminist Revolution.” – New Mexico Museum

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