On Reflection

Radical Since 1971 - What if would happen if you dressed Captain America in a corset and heels? How should we respond to war & exploitation? Why are women paid less and expected to do more? Over her 40+ year career, feminist artist and political activist Margaret Harrison has tried to answer these questions, creating an enormous body of work that includes oil paintings, watercolors, drawings, and large installations. Utilizing her Royal Academy training, cultural icons from Wonder Woman to Lady Gaga, and elements of the British landscape tradition, she insightfully comments on issues of cultural and political importance locally (UK) and internationally. From her first censored solo exhibition in 1971 (one of the first Feminist solo shows in London) to winning the Northern Art Prize in 2013 (Leeds, UK), Harrison has challenged the status quo with thought provoking and often humorous work questioning notions of gender & identity, place, politics, celebrity, domestic violence, and the exploitation of women's labor and sexuality. About the Artist Margaret Harrison's work has helped define the relationship of feminism, art and politics in Britain, and she is frequently invited to speak on these topics in international forums. Her work has been exhibited recently in shows central to contemporary debates about feminist art practice, such as the 2009 exhibition REBELLE: Art and Feminism 1969-2009 (Museum of Contemporary Art, Arnhem, the Netherlands), the 2007 touring exhibition WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution (MOCA Los Angeles/MoMA PS1, New York), and the 11th Istanbul Biennale in 2009. Her work has been collected by the Tate Museum and other major institutions. She currently lives and works in both Cumbria and San Francisco. About the Author Kim Munson is an author, curator & art historian based in San Francisco.