Gina Pane French - Italian, 1939-1990

Gina Pane was instrumental to the development of the international Body Art movement, contributing a unique and corporeal language marked by ritual, symbolism and catharsis. Coming from the archives of the Galerie Rodolphe Stadler, the Parisian gallery of Pane who were themselves revolutionary in their presentation of avant-garde performance art, her exhibition at Richard Saltoun Gallery celebrates the artist’s pioneering career with a focus on the actions for which she is best known.

From March 2019 to March 2020, Richard Saltoun Gallery dedicated 100% of its exhibition and art fair programme to women artists. Titled 100% Women, the initiative was implemented to address the gender inequality that persists in the art world and encourage wider industry action through debate, dialogue and collaboration. It is now a leader in its representation of female artists, from avant-garde pioneers of the 1960s and ‘70s to a younger generation of female artists working today. It continues to support female artists through extensive research, partnerships and solo presentations at the gallery and online.

This exhibitions explores the global Conceptual art movement over two decades of photography, through the work of 26 artists from 13 countries. The presentation investigates different conceptual uses of photography within practices dealing with Feminism, political activism, performance and social critique.

'The Body As Language: Women And Performance' examines the birth and development of performance art in relation to gender, the body, language and the expression of the self. Focusing on women artists working in Italy during the '70s, the exhibition features work by Gina PANE, Ketty La ROCCA, Susan SANTORO and Renate BERTLMANN, together with the archival photographs of the dance performances of Trisha BROWN, Simone FORTI and Yvonne RAINER.

Celebrating poetry and performance through the work of Ida APPLEBROOG, Henri CHOPIN and Gina PANE, each of whom has held a unique position within the development of performance art over the past 40 years.