Sun 3/6 @ 2-4PM
Cleveland artist Judy Takács’ sharp, powerful, realistic paintings are well known to area gallery and museum visitors, having been widely exhibited in the area. She takes ordinary women of all types and turns them into heroes in her work.
Now she’s created a series she’s dubbed The Goddess Project: Paintings and Stories, which is both an exhibit of the actual paintings and a book featuring 55 full-color images. Instead of turning ordinary women into heroes, she takes goddesses and heroines from the classic mythology of various traditions and re-invents them as modern women from a contemporary feminist viewpoint. In doing so, Takács dives underneath the often one-dimensional stories that have been passed down about these women, casting them in prescribed roles, imagining a much more complex back story for them. She portrays them not as idealized figures but as women of different races, ages and body types, who challenge patriarchy, fight for justice and stand in solidarity with other women.
The show takes place at Chagrin Arts, with an opening reception Sunday March 6 @ 2-4pm where the book will be available and the artist will be signing copies. RSVP is requested. Go to chagrinarts.org/event. The show is on view through June 12.