Driven to Abstraction: American women's work stars; Fort Myers artist Marcus Jansen joins later

American women's art, from abstract to realism, takes over The Baker Museum on March 28, and an international name with a local presence, Marcus Jansen, follows close behind.

Artis—Naples announced two exhibitions, "Blurring Boundaries: The Women of American Abstract Artists, 1936-Present" and "Making a Mark: American Women Artists," opening simultaneously. The Jansen exhibition, "Two Decades of Relevance," comes April 25.

More:Baker Museum re-opens with Rodin bronzes, immersive color and fantastic forms from Chihuly

The three shows replace the Chihuly exhibition, "Dreaming Forms: Chihuly Then and Now," which closes Feb. 28. That exhibition, celebrating the museum's 20th anniversary, currently envelops the third floor, with enough glass and two-dimensional art to fill two 53-foot tractor trailers. 

"Two Decades of Relevance" will be Jansen's first solo museum exhibition in Southwest Florida, according to a news release from Artis—Naples. It follows his solo show, "Power Structures," at the gallery Almine Rech Gallery in Paris, which closes Feb. 27.

Marcus Jansen | Power Structures | Almine Rech Gallery

The New York City-born artist works in studios in both Fort Myers and the Bronx. Jansen is known and collected worldwide for his expressionist swaths of color and strong visual takes on social injustice. One of the paintings in this 18-work exhibition, "Foreclosures," was done during the early 2008 economic recession. 

Visitors can hear Jansen talk about his art. He will be at the museum 10 a.m. April 27 for a reservations-required, question-and-answer session and conversation with Courtney McNeil, museum director and chief curator. He'll discuss his development as an artist, his inspiration sources and the direction in which his work is moving over the two decades represented in the exhibition. 

"Blurring Boundaries: The Women of American Abstract Artists, 1936-Present" brings an exhibition of works by members of the pioneering American Abstract Artists organization. It was founded during the Depression to bring an understanding of the genre to America. The organization continues today, working to combat the misimpression that abstract art must solve issues — that, in fact, it even needs to address them. 

Among the artists in the exhibition are those from its founding years to the present, with names such as Perle Fine, Esphyr Slobodkina, Irene Rice Pereira, Alice Trumbull Mason and Gertrude Greene. Current members in this exhibition include Ce Roser, Irene Rousseau, Judith Murray and Alice Adams; some of them, like Rhia Hurt, have actually lent their works to its tour.

To complement it, "Making a Mark: American Women Artists, " organized by The Baker Museum, shows works by women artists from its permanent collection. Some of them, in fact, appear in both exhibitions: Adams, Trumbull Mason, Greene, Slobodkina and Rice-Pereira.

The exhibition also includes works of Helen Frankenthaler, Georgia O'Keeffe and Miriam Schapiro, among others.

Director of Curatorial Affairs Rangsook Yoon, will offer a virtual presentation, "Why Women Artists?" at 10 a.m. April 2. It provides an overview of the two shows and examines the importance of women-centric narratives in museums.

"These visually rich exhibitions offer visitors the opportunity to experience vibrant works of art created from the 1920s to the present day that highlight the expressive potential of abstraction and figuration," said McNeil in a statement on the coming exhibitions.

More:Naples Art District celebrates 15-year anniversary and double-digit growth

“From women artists of the early 20th century to the present, and to contemporary artist Marcus Jansen, the artists featured at The Baker Museum this spring utilize color, gesture and form to convey meaning to the viewer."

Harriet Howard Heithaus covers arts and entertainment for the Naples Daily News/naplesnews.com. Reach her at 239-213-6091.

The Baker Museum

What: Current exhibitions, "Dreaming Forms: Chihuly Then and Now";

"Rodin: Truth Form Life: Selections from the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Collections"; "Subject Matters: Works from the Permanent Collection" and 

"Magritte: Reflections of Another World," paintings from the Van Parys family

When: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays, Noon-4 p.m. Sundays

Admission: $10, $5 full-time student and military; free ages 17and younger

Tickets: For COVID-19 protocols, admission is by timed ticket only; artisnaples.org or 239-597-1900

Something else: Purses and other small bags may not exceed approximately 14  by 6 by 4 inches (totaling no more than 24 inches); no backpacks or briefcases allowed