Women Artists Take Center Stage at BAMPFA

Throughout history, women artists have navigated systemic exclusions while reshaping artistic practices and narratives. Their work has consistently challenged dominant frameworks, offering perspectives that are both deeply personal and profoundly transformative.

The exhibition Making Their Mark: Works from the Shah Garg Collection, on view at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA), celebrates the resilience and innovation of women artists. This ambitious exhibition highlights a collection assembled by Komal Shah and Gaurav Garg, showcasing eight decades of work from nearly 70 artists. It not only emphasizes the contributions of women artists but also initiates vital conversations about representation and equity in art history.

Curated by Cecilia Alemani and Margot Norton, the exhibition juxtaposes intergenerational practices, creating a dynamic dialogue between pioneering artists such as Joan Mitchell, Mary Heilmann, and Howardena Pindell, and contemporary figures like Tschabalala Self, Tau Lewis, and Rose Simpson. Alemani describes her approach as one of layered perspectives.

The beauty of curating private collections is the ability to read them through a different lens, one that keeps in mind the collector’s approach while opening new connections and interpretations.

As Alemani notes, the foundation for this exhibition was established with the publication Making Their Mark: Art by Women in the Shah Garg Collection, co-edited by Mark Godfrey and Katy Siegel. The book features scholarly essays that contextualize the works within broader art historical narratives. She described the exhibition as a progression from the book, designed to explore "new entry points and approaches" to create "new narratives and rhymes among the works." Together, the book and exhibition aim to reshape discourse and challenge canonical definitions of art, amplifying the voices and contributions of women artists.

This approach is reflected in Alemani’s curatorial strategy, which emphasizes connections across generations, media, and materiality. She pairs abstract landscapes by Etel Adnan with Toshiko Takaezu’s vessels, highlighting how these works transcend conventional hierarchies of craft and fine art, while similarly engaging "with the tradition of landscape in an abstract and yet poetic way." As Alemani explains, it is key to "stop thinking of them as craft and to fully embrace their nature, their making, the complexity of their texture."

"What happens when you install a gorgeous textile work like Françoise Grossen between Elizabeth Murray and Tau Lewis?" Alemani asks. "My hope was to invite the viewer to reconsider what has too long been deemed ‘craft’ or low art."

The exhibition also foregrounds abstraction as more than a formal language—it becomes a tool to address themes of power, gender, and race. This is particularly evident in works by Mary Lovelace O’Neal and Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, whose practices confront systemic inequities while celebrating cultural identity.

For Komal Shah, the collection’s focus on women artists stems from personal and societal reflections. “When I became a mother, it was eye-opening to see the challenges women face in balancing work and family,” she explains. Shah's journey began with contemporary artists such as Jacqueline Humphries and Amy Sillman and evolved to include overlooked older figures who have influenced younger generations. As she spent time with the artists, she "realized that the inequity in the art market stemmed from centuries of societal bias, an unfriendly art ecosystem, and work-life balance challenges that women face, more than men."

This mission became about elevating the practice of women artists, addressing the inequity in the art market, and highlighting the extraordinary talent of these artists.

Alemani’s curatorial choices and Shah’s dedication converge to form an exhibition that is both thoughtful and urgent. For Shah, Alemani was a natural choice to curate Making Their Mark, given their long-standing acquaintance and Shah’s admiration for her curatorial work. Shah, who had been deeply inspired by Alemani’s exhibition at the 2022 Venice Biennale, described her as “a master at looking at the margins, and teasing out the underrepresented and unexplored, in a way that is engaging, thought provoking, and accessible.” She praised Alemani’s thoughtful approach to the exhibition, highlighting her deep engagement with the collection to uncover compelling themes and artworks. She noted that while her own input was consultative, all curatorial decisions were left to Alemani.

Shah’s vision extends beyond the exhibition, exemplified by the launch of the Shah Garg Women Artists Research Fund at BAMPFA, a landmark initiative aimed at advancing scholarship and increasing opportunities for women artists. For Shah, this effort builds on her long-standing commitment to “create space for artists who are not being given the space they deserve,” a mission that has informed her broader work, including the 2019 launch of the Artists on the Future series at Stanford, which pairs artists with cultural thought leaders to discuss societal issues. The fund will support exhibitions, publications, and programs, including those that might not otherwise be feasible, and will help raise awareness for underrecognized women artists. In this way, both the fund and the exhibition contribute to Shah’s ongoing efforts to elevate the voices of women artists and expose their work to wider audiences.

BAMPFA’s history of championing feminist themes aligns seamlessly with this project. The museum’s recent retrospectives and its role in the Feminist Art Coalition underscore its commitment to inclusive narratives. Executive Director Julie Rodrigues Widholm emphasizes this synergy: “This partnership creates public access to exemplary artworks by leading women artists, generating new scholarship and art histories for years to come.”

In Shah’s words, Making Their Mark is about more than representation; it’s about progress. The exhibition not only illuminates the achievements of women artists but also invites audiences to reflect on the systemic changes needed for a more equitable art world. By bringing this groundbreaking collection to the West Coast, BAMPFA continues to position itself at the forefront of this vital conversation, ensuring that the voices of women artists resonate loudly and persistently.

The exhibition Making Their Mark: Works from the Shah Garg Collection will be on view at BAMPFA in Berkeley will be on view until April 25th, 2025.