International Women’s Day at Unit

In recognition of International Women’s Day we hear from some of the female artists at the heart of Unit about what it means to be a contemporary woman in the arts, and also take a look at two upcoming exhibitions, This is Now and The Three Graces.

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As the world celebrates International Women’s Day, Unit is proud to champion the talents and passion of the gallery’s female artists. That women face a disproportionate struggle to find success in the arts is common knowledge, and at Unit we see it as an imperative to continue to promote these artists and their influential voices.

“I hope in future ‘women artists’ will be retired as an art world phrase. It’s inconceivable that an exhibition would tout itself by showing ‘men artists’ – they have the simple luxury of just being ‘artists’. Their lack of prefix implies that artist is synonymous with man, and in truth it never has been.

I feel indebted to the bravery of those who carved a path for all women-identifying artists today. Yet it is so disappointing that they are still so often undermined in their practices, defined as ‘the wife’ or ‘the muse’ of their male counterparts. To me, inspiring inclusion in the context of the art world means continuing to adjust the lens by curating space for women in all galleries and museums that uplift them, and by valuing their works on an equal footing.”

“In my work I represent passionate, powerful, and independent women. Through sport, as women we can celebrate our physicality and claim ownership over our bodies. My paintings are a joyful, colourful and energetic expression of contemporary womanhood.”

In alignment with both Women’s History Month and the arrival of spring, Unit open the group exhibition The Three Graces on 13 March, as a contemporary re-examination of the three mythological daughters of Zeus, embodiments of arts and culture throughout the centuries.

Featuring the work of Paula Turmina, Helen Flockhart, Nooka Shepherd and Shaina Craft among others, The Three Graces revisits ideas of femininity, fertility, virtue, generosity, joy and creativity, exploring their societal resonance in the modern world.

“I have questioned multiple times what it means to be a woman and how I embody that. Womanhood, in a spiritual sense, has served me love and care. I prefer to see my gender as fluid, and it is in queerness that I found safety and freedom.

I see Women’s History Month as an opportunity to open gender discussions and remind that rates of gender-based violence are still alarmingly high. Women, as everyone else, deserve to feel safe to live and express themselves.”

In anticipation of her debut solo exhibition with Unit, This is Now, Jess Allen chooses an artwork from the show to discuss in reference to International Women’s Day. The shadows and silhouettes seen throughout her work relate to the idea of the every-woman, providing the viewer with a chance to step into the thoughts and emotions of her anonymous characters.

“My painting For the time being has a personal resonance, because it is my shadow, but it’s also a metaphor for my own experience of being an artist, and relates to the wider context of being a woman, both in the home, but equally in the workplace. Particularly, for me, it connects to the historic lack of representation of women in the art world, and the current movement to redress that balance.”