On This Spot Newsletter June 2025

On This Spot tells the stories of a diverse group of women artists through short-form documentaries. Join us as we put women artists on the map.

Pride Month

In honor of Pride Month, On This Spot celebrates the rich and enduring legacy of queer artists in New York City. From the downtown loft scenes of the 1970s to the activist art collectives born during the AIDS crisis, LGBTQ+ artists have played a vital role in shaping the city’s cultural landscape.

We honor their courage, creativity, and the ways their stories continue to inspire new generations.

Video Spotlight – Lynda Benglis

Lynda Benglis created a series of what she called “sexual mockeries” that scandalized the artworld, including a nude ad in Artforum magazine.

She is an artist known for her challenging and unconventional work that explores themes of gender, sexuality, and identity. Revolutionizing the medium of painting, she turned abstraction into a physical, sensual sculptural reality by pouring electric-colored latex directly onto the floor where it pooled into large organic shapes. We are just beginning to catch up with her.

Image: Lynda Benglis, Artforum Advertisement (detail), published in Artforum, November 1974, pp. 4-5. Photo: Arthur Gordon. Photo of magazine: Chris Burnside © 2024 Lynda Benglis / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

Spot Reads

Further reading on Spot artists

Lynda Benglis

Andrew Bonacina, Nora Lawrence, Bibiana Obler

The definitive monograph on American sculptor and visual artist Lynda Benglis, one of the most important living artists today.

"I was still thinking about gender stereotypes and I just wanted to make an image that can never be one thing: not one gender, not one form of sexuality or desire."

—Lynda Benglis

Benglis, Lynda. "Andrew Bonacina in conversation with Lynda Benglis." in Lynda Benglis. Texts by Lynda Benglis, Andrew Bonacina, Nora Lawrence, Bibiana Obler. London: Phaidon, 2022: 8-33.

Upcoming Event

Online Talk with APAA

A Discussion with Loretta Howard, Executive Director, joined by On This Spot board members and APAA colleagues Naomi Baigell and Lorinda Ash

Wednesday, June 25, 12:00 - 1:00 pm

We are excited to be participating in a webinar with the Association of Professional Art Advisors. This event is free and open to all APAA members.

What's Happening

Events and exhibitions related to Spot artists

Woven Histories: Textiles and Modern Abstraction

Through Sep 13

MoMA

Highlighting issues of labor and identity that are intertwined with modern textile production, Woven Histories argues that weaving and textiles are the quintessential link between lived experience and art. Featuring works by Anni Albers, Sonia Delaunay and Lenore Tawney, this exhibition brings together more than 150 diverse, interdisciplinary objects.  

Image details: Lenore Tawney. Dark River. 1962. Linen and wood, 164 × 22 1/2" (416.6 × 57.2 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Greta Daniel Design Fund. © 2025 Lenore Tawney



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