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Nancy Spero
1926-2009

Nancy Spero 1926-2009

  • Biography
  • Works
  • Select Exhibitions
  • News & Events
  • Press
  • Publications
  • Contact Form
  • In a groundbreaking career surpassing 50 years of practice and encompassing many significant visual and cultural movements including Conceptual Art,...
    P.E.A.C.E., Helicopter, Mother + Children, 1968. Collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

    In a groundbreaking career surpassing 50 years of practice and encompassing many significant visual and cultural movements including Conceptual Art, Post-Modernism, and Feminism, Nancy Spero made the female experience central to her art and challenged aesthetic and political conventions. Spero’s lexicon was derived from an immersion in the history of images, notably from Egypt, classical antiquity, pre-history, and contemporary news media. She combined, fractured, and repurposed found imagery and adopted text to comment on contemporary and historical events such as the monstrosities of the Vietnam War, extermination of Jews during the Holocaust, and torture of women in Chile. With raw intensity, Spero executed works on paper and installations that persist as unapologetic statements against the pervasive abuse of power, Western privilege, and male dominance. 

  • "The repetition inherent in the printing process echoes the irrepressible presence of women in history I seek to capture by combining and recombining images of women from very different historical periods and cultural contexts. Yet my intervention is not neutral history, is not fixed, it’s mutable, open to interpretation, it keeps on living by accumulating new meanings.
    Now this is a very subversive idea, because it means history can be changed, power relations reversed. . . "
    —Nancy Spero
  • Spero’s work is held in over 50 prominent public collections worldwide including the Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois; Centre Pompidou,...
    The Goddess Nut II, 1990. Collection SFMOMA.

    Spero’s work is held in over 50 prominent public collections worldwide including the Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois; Centre Pompidou, France; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Spain; Museum of Modern Art, New York; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Tate Gallery, England; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Massachusetts; and Dallas Museum of Art, Texas. Major monographic exhibitions of Spero’s work have been shown at renowned museums including the Museo Rufino Tamayo, Mexico; Centre Pompidou, France; Serpentine Galleries, England; Museo d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, and Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo, Spain. Between 2019 and 2021, a major retrospective exhibition travelled to the Museum Folkwang, Essen, Germany; Nordic Watercolour Museum, Skärhamn, Sweden; Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk; and the Lillehammer Art Museum, Lillehammer, Norway. Spero’s installation Maypole: Take No Prisoners was presented in 2007 at the 52nd Venice Biennale, and later at MoMA PS1 as part of the retrospective exhibition Paper Mirror (2019).

    Spero was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1926. She died in New York City in 2009. 

    Download CV
  • Nancy Spero, Notes in Time (1979), MoMA, New York City. (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Installation view, Nancy Spero: Paper Mirror, Museo Tamayo, Mexico City, October 6, 2018 – February 17, 2019. (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Installation view, Nancy Spero: Paper Mirror, Museo Tamayo, Mexico City, October 6, 2018 – February 17, 2019. (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Installation view, Nancy Spero: Paper Mirror, Museo Tamayo, Mexico City, October 6, 2018 – February 17, 2019. (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Installation view, Nancy Spero: Paper Mirror, MoMA PS1, New York City, March 31 – June 23, 2019. (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Installation view, Nancy Spero: Paper Mirror, MoMA PS1, New York City, March 31 – June 23, 2019. (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Installation view, Slip of the Tongue, Punta della Dogana, Pinault Collection, Venice, Italy, April 12, 2015 – January 10, 2016. (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Nancy Spero, Sheela-Na-Gig At Home, 1996. Handprinting on paper, underwear, clothesline, clothespins, video. Dimensions variable. Installation view, Nancy Spero: Dissidances. July 4 July, 2008 – September 24, 2008. (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Nancy Spero, Sheela-Na-Gig At Home, 1996. Handprinting on paper, underwear, clothesline, clothespins, video. Dimensions variable. Installation view, Nancy Spero: Dissidances. July 4 July, 2008 – September 24, 2008. (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Nancy Spero, Artemis, Acrobats, Divas and Dancers (2004), 66th Street/Lincoln Center Subway Station, New York City. (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Nancy Spero, Artemis, Acrobats, Divas and Dancers (2004), 66th Street/Lincoln Center Subway Station, New York City. (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).

    Nancy Spero, Notes in Time (1979), MoMA, New York City. 

  • Works
    • Lovers, 1965

      Lovers, 1965

    • Bomb, Dove and Victims, 1967

      Bomb, Dove and Victims, 1967

    • Artaud Painting– Je ne touche plus…, 1970

      Artaud Painting– Je ne touche plus…, 1970

    • We are Pro-Choice, 1992

      We are Pro-Choice, 1992

    • Nancy Spero, The Exhibitionists and Dancer, 1996
      Nancy Spero, The Exhibitionists and Dancer, 1996
    • Nancy Spero, Parade, 1998
      Nancy Spero, Parade, 1998
    • Nancy Spero, Apparitions, 2000
      Nancy Spero, Apparitions, 2000
    • Nancy Spero, Relay, 2000
      Nancy Spero, Relay, 2000
    • La Renommée, 2004

      La Renommée, 2004

  • Select Exhibitions

    • Nancy Spero: Maypole: Take No Prisoners, The Gund, Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio
      Exhibitions

      Nancy Spero: Maypole: Take No Prisoners

      The Gund, Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio 16 January - 2 June 2024 Museum & Public Exhibitions
    • Nancy Spero, Woman as Protagonist
      Exhibitions

      Nancy Spero

      Woman as Protagonist 23 February - 25 March 2023 Galerie Lelong Exhibitions
    • Nancy Spero: Acts of Rebellion, Lillehammer Art Museum, Lillehammer, Norway
      Exhibitions

      Nancy Spero: Acts of Rebellion

      Lillehammer Art Museum, Lillehammer, Norway 12 September 2020 - 24 January 2021 Museum & Public Exhibitions
    • Nancy Spero, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk, Denmark
      Exhibitions

      Nancy Spero

      Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk, Denmark 23 January - 21 June 2020 Museum & Public Exhibitions
    • Nancy Spero, Museum Folkwang, Essen, Germany
      Exhibitions

      Nancy Spero

      Museum Folkwang, Essen, Germany 7 June - 25 August 2019 Museum & Public Exhibitions
    • Nancy Spero: Paper Mirror, MoMA PS1, New York City
      Exhibitions

      Nancy Spero: Paper Mirror

      MoMA PS1, New York City 31 March - 23 June 2019 Museum & Public Exhibitions
    • Nancy Spero, Maypole: Take No Prisoners
      Exhibitions

      Nancy Spero, Maypole: Take No Prisoners

      28 April - 17 June 2017 Galerie Lelong Exhibitions
    • Nancy Spero, From Victimage to Liberation: Works from the 1980s & 1990s
      Exhibitions

      Nancy Spero, From Victimage to Liberation: Works from the 1980s & 1990s

      2 January - 16 February 2013 Galerie Lelong Exhibitions
    • Nancy Spero: Un Coup de Dent
      Exhibitions

      Nancy Spero: Un Coup de Dent

      2 January - 1 February 2009 Galerie Lelong Exhibitions
  • News & Events

    • Galerie Lelong: Dialogues, Nancy Spero: Woman as Protagonist with Samm Kunce and Catherine Morris
      Events

      Galerie Lelong: Dialogues

      Nancy Spero: Woman as Protagonist with Samm Kunce and Catherine Morris 24 March 2023
    • Galerie Lelong: Dialogues, Preserving Legacies: Estates and Galleries with Philip Spero Golub, Alvin Hall, Raquel Cecilia Mendieta, and Melissa Messina
      Events

      Galerie Lelong: Dialogues

      Preserving Legacies: Estates and Galleries with Philip Spero Golub, Alvin Hall, Raquel Cecilia Mendieta, and Melissa Messina 18 March 2021
  • Press

    • The New York Times, Mandatory Viewing: Nancy Spero’s Bold Feminist Art
      Press

      The New York Times

      Mandatory Viewing: Nancy Spero’s Bold Feminist Art June 13, 2019
    • The New Yorker, 'Nancy Spero'
      Press

      The New Yorker

      "Nancy Spero" April 11, 2019
    • Art in America
      Press

      Art in America

      July 24, 2017
    • Artforum, Critics’ Picks New York
      Press

      Artforum

      Critics’ Picks New York June 17, 2017
  • Publications

    • Nancy Spero: Paper Mirror, Lucy R. Lippard, Julie Ault, Juan A. Gaitán
      Publications

      Nancy Spero: Paper Mirror

      Lucy R. Lippard, Julie Ault, Juan A. Gaitán
      Published by Fundación Olga y Rufino Tamayo ISBN: 978-607-96176-7-7
    • Nancy Spero: Acts of Rebellion, Dotty Attie Astrid Ihle
      Publications

      Nancy Spero: Acts of Rebellion

      Dotty Attie Astrid Ihle
      Published by Steidl ISBN 978-3-95829-624-4
    • Nancy Spero - From Victimage to Liberation: Works from the 1980s & 1990s, Hilarie M. Sheets
      Publications

      Nancy Spero - From Victimage to Liberation: Works from the 1980s & 1990s

      Hilarie M. Sheets
      Published by Galerie Lelong ISBN: 9780615739595
    • Nancy Spero: Torture of Women, Diana Nemiroff, Luisa Valenzuela, Elaine Scarry, et al
      Publications

      Nancy Spero: Torture of Women

      Diana Nemiroff, Luisa Valenzuela, Elaine Scarry, et al
    • Nancy Spero: The Work, Christopher Lyon
      Publications

      Nancy Spero: The Work

      Christopher Lyon
      Published by Prestel ISBN: 9783791344164
    • Nancy Spero: 1926-2009
      Publications

      Nancy Spero: 1926-2009

      Published by Centre Pompidou and Gallimard ISBN: 9782070130894
    • Nancy Spero: Dissidances, Manuel J. Borja-Villel, Rosario Peiró, Mignon Nixon, Benjamin H.D. Buchloh, Hélène Cixous
      Publications

      Nancy Spero: Dissidances

      Manuel J. Borja-Villel, Rosario Peiró, Mignon Nixon, Benjamin H.D. Buchloh, Hélène Cixous
      Published by Museu d' Art Contemporani de Barcelona ISBN: 9788489771604
    • Codex Spero: Nancy Spero - Selected Writings and Interviews 1950-2008, Roel Arkesteijn
      Publications

      Codex Spero: Nancy Spero - Selected Writings and Interviews 1950-2008

      Roel Arkesteijn
      Published by Roma Publications and the de Appel Arts Centre ISBN: 9789077459287
    • Nancy Spero: The War Series 1966-1970, Leon Golub, Robert Storr
      Publications

      Nancy Spero: The War Series 1966-1970

      Leon Golub, Robert Storr
      Published by Edizioni Charta ISBN: 9788881584574
  • Nancy Spero in "Protest" - Season 4 - "Art in the Twenty-First Century" | Art21
  • Contact Form

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info@galerie-lelong.com

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