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Works

bonnie-works

About

In a career spanning nearly fifty years, Bonnie Lucas (b. Syracuse, NY) has built a rigorous aesthetic of inquiry into traditional femininity, reconfiguring avalanches of cheap consumer goods into totemic meditations on commodification, pathos, sensuality, and perversion. Her intricate, hand-sewn fabric assemblages and collages at once embrace and critique the culturally-freighted objects that characterize girls’ desires and position in society. At first, cotton candy hues and childish imagery evoke innocence, but compositional features such as busted-open zippers and dismembered doll parts give each work an edge that signals key aspects of social meaning and individual history.

Born in 1950, Lucas is closely influenced by romanticized depictions of postwar domesticity, the concurrent rise of mass-produced goods, and the feminist movement of the following decade. The deft usage of highly accessible, “non-art” materials—from plastic tiaras to lacy socks to stuffed animals—reflect the technical skill of a master tailor and the conceptual dexterity of a mature artist who approaches these discount products as “information” for cultural and personal analysis. Consistently playing on gendered expectations and the darker implications of American values, Lucas’ formal and conceptual interests speak to a contemporary audience with unique and undeniable relevance.


Lucas has presented recent solo exhibitions at ILY2, Portland, OR; Trotter & Sholer, New York, NY; RUSCHWOMAN, Chicago, IL; JTT, New York, NY; and 17ESSEX, New York, NY. Her work has been included in projects at the Drawing Center, New York, NY; International Studio & Curatorial Program, Brooklyn, NY; Painting Center, New York, NY; deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln, MA; TextielMuseum, Tilburg, Netherlands; and Bellevue Arts Museum, Bellevue, WA, among other institutions. In 2014, Lucas was the subject of a major survey exhibition at Sylvia Wald & Po Kim Art Gallery, New York, NY. Her work has been written about in Artforum, The Brooklyn Rail, The New York Times, The Village Voice, New Yorker, and USA Today. Lucas lives and works in New York, NY.

EDUCATION

1979 MFA Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
1972 BA Art History, Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA

SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024 Beautiful Paint, RUSCHMAN, Chicago, IL
2024 Small Worlds, Trotter & Sholer, New York, NY
2023 Bonnie Lucas 1978 - 2023, ILY2, Portland, OR
2022 Girl with Purse, Ruschwoman, Chicago, IL
2018 N is for Nice, 17 Essex St. Gallery, New York, NY
2017 Young Lady, JTT, New York, NY
2014 Retrospective 1973 to 2014, Po Kim Gallery, New York, NY
2011 Bonnie Lucas: Collages, Esopus Space, New York, NY
2006 Jewish Center of Princeton, Princeton, NJ
2000 Bonnie Lucas, Barbara Ann Levy Gallery, New York, NY
1994 Edith Blum Gallery, College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, ME
1991 Souyun Yi Gallery, New York, NY
1987 Suffocating Freedom, Avenue B Gallery, New York, NY
1986 Bonnie Lucas: New Works, Avenue B Gallery, New York, NY
1985 Domestic Surrealism, Avenue B Gallery, New York, NY
1979 Kathryn Markel Fine Arts, New York, NY
1976 Leverett House, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

TWO AND THREE-PERSON EXHIBITIONS

2008 Wrestling Angels, curated by Marion Callis, International Studio Curatorial Program, Brooklyn, NY
2005 Heavy Industry, curated by George Negroponte and Marion Callis, The Painting Center, New York, NY
1995 Bonnie Lucas and Steven Handy, Gallery Rebolloso, Minneapolis, MN
1988 Laura Foreman and Bonnie Lucas, Souyun Yi Gallery, New York, NY

SELECTED GROUP SHOWS
2025 Bride of the Far Side, Post-Times Gallery, New York, NY
2024 The Doll Show, curated by Eva Melas, Portia Munson, and Carri Skoczek, Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild, Woodstock, NY
2017 99 cents or Less, curated by Jens Hoffman, Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, Detroit, MI
2016 Shifting Perspectives, curated by Maggie Dunlap, Southside Gallery, Oxford, MS
2016 Under The Tongue, curated by Marie Catalano, Evening Hours, New York, NY
2015 All Together Different, curated by Linda Griggs and Yona Verver, Manny Cantor Center, New York, NY
2008 Peace, Sideshow Gallery, Williamsburg, NY
2007 War is Over Again, Sideshow Gallery, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY
2006 Threads of Memory, curated by Margaret Mathews-Berenson, Dorsky Gallery Curatorial Projects, Long Island City, NY
2005 Girltalk, The Diesel Gallery, Red Hook, Brooklyn, NY
2004 The Anxious Image, curated by David Sharpe and Jimmy Wright The Painting Center, New York, NY
2004 Carrying On, Abrons Art Center, Henry Street Settlement, New York, NY
2004 Diana Millia, Fredericka Brooks and Bonnie Lucas, Barbara Ann Levy Gallery, Long Island, NY
2000 The Art of the Garden, curated by Carl Little College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, ME
1999 In Celebration of Women Artists, Barbara Ann Levy Gallery, Long Island, NY
1999 Fresh Flowers, Bellevue Art Museum, Bellevue, WA
1998 Collectors’ Edge, NJ Center for the Visual Arts, Summit, NJ
1997 Abstracted and Unfixed, Hiram Rodriguez-Mora and Richard Tsao, Art in General, New York, NY
1997 The Art Exchange Show, curated by Robert Gilson 67 Broad Street, New York, NY
1997 Pieces Speak, curated by Sylvia Netzer Gallery 128, New York, NY
1997 Hung Out to Dry, Steinbaum Krauss Gallery, New York, NY
1996 Home is Where the Art is, or, Hybrid Affairs, curated by Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt, The National Arts Club, New York, NY
1996 Roberto Bocci, Bonnie Lucas, Carol Padberg, Gallery Rebolloso, Minneapolis, MN
1994 Retouching the Family Album, Patricia Shea Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
1994 Whateva, Dru Arstark Gallery, New York, NY
1993 The Return of the Cadaver Exquis, The Drawing Center, New York, NY
1993 Holiday Greetings and Wishes for 1994, Steinbaum Krauss Gallery, New York, NY
1993 USA Today, Dutch Textile Museum, Tilburg (Holland) and traveling to Moision Kartano, Elimaki, Finland
1992 Sugar and Spice, curated by Lisa Petrucci Speedway Gallery, Boston, MA
1992 Good-bye to Apple Pie: Contemporary Artists View the Family in Crisis, curated by Nick Capasso, Decordova Museum of Art, Lincoln, MA
1992 Dysfunction in the Family Album, curated by David Humphrey, Diane Brown Gallery, New York, NY
1990 An Artist's Christmas: Holiday Images by American Artists, curated by Ronny Cohen, Midtown Payson Gallery, New York, NY
1990 Bad Girls, Aljira Gallery, Newark, NJ
1989 Works on Paper, Souyun Yi Gallery, New York, NY
1989 Assemblages from the Permanent Collection, Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
1989 Love and Charity: The Tradition of Caritas in Contemporary Painting, Sherry French Gallery, New York, NY
1988 Alice, and Look Who Else, Through the Looking Glass, Bernice Steinbaum Gallery, New York, NY
1988 Charged Places and Things, curated by Linda Burgess, Sherry French Gallery, New York, NY
1988 Frontiers in Fiber: The Americans, curated by Laurel Reuter and Mildred Constantine, North Dakota Museum of Art, ND
1988 The Flower Show, Betsy Rosenfield Gallery, Chicago, IL
1988 The Feminine, Sherry French Gallery, New York, NY
1987 Art in Fashion, Fashion in Art, curated by Richard Martin, Bernice Steinbaum Gallery, New York, NY
1987 Floating Values: A Survey of Gendered Investigations, curated by Chris Hill and Catherine Howe, Hallwalls, Buffalo, NY
1987 Tangents: Art in Fiber, curated by Jan Rosen, The Maryland Institute, College of Art, Baltimore, MD
1987 Four Women Artists, curated by Mary Wyrick, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC
1987 Beauties/Beasties, curated by Margaret Mathews-Berenson, SSC&B Lintas Worldwide, One Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, New York, NY
1986 Toys Art Us, curated by Fred Wilson, Bronx Council on the Arts Longwood Art Gallery, New York, NY
1986 Let's Play House, curated by Miriam Shapiro, Bernice Steinbaum Gallery, New York, NY
1986 East Village Ladies Salute the South Bronx, curated By Baird Jones, Fashion Moda Gallery, New York, NY
1986 The East Village, curated by Richard Martin, Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, NY
1985 The Doll Show: Artists' Dolls and Figurines, Hillwood Art Gallery, Long Island University, NY
1985 Basic Needs, curated by Karen Shaw, Islip Art Museum, East Islip, NY
1985 Guerilla Girls, Palladium, New York, NY
1985 Adornments, Bernice Steinbaum Gallery, New York, NY
1985 Private Going Public: Comments on the Personal and the Political, curated by Ellen Lubell Soho 20 Gallery, New York, NY
1985 Small Works by Big Thinkers, Bess Cutler Gallery, New York, NY
1985 Start Again, Ground Zero Gallery, New York, NY
1985 Feminists and Misogynists: Together at Last, Avenue B Gallery, New York, NY
1984 Indigestion, P.P.O.W. Gallery, New York, NY
1984 Art and Ego, New York Academy for the Arts, New York, NY
1984 Carnival Knowledge: The Second Coming, Franklin Furnace, New York, NY
1983 Subtleties, curated by Jeffrey Wechsler, Sutton Gallery, New York, NY
1983 Grabag: Selection from 10 on 8, City Gallery, Department of Cultural Affairs, New York, NY
1983 Consumer Beware, curated by Kathy Goncharov, Women's Interart Center, New York, NY
1983 Preparing for War, curated by Julius Valiunas, Terminal New York, New York, NY
1983 Protective Devices, curated by Sabra Moore, Windows on White, New York, NY
1982 Mixed Bag, curated by Geno Rodriguez, Alternative Museum, New York, NY
1982 Women Artists: Self-Images, Judy Caden Gallery, New York, NY
1982 The Down and Out of New York Show, Wake Forest University Art Gallery, Winston-Salem, NC
1982 Twentieth Anniversary Show, Rutgers University MFA Program, New Jersey State Museum, Trenton, NJ
1981 Fiber, Tweed Gallery, Plainfield, NJ
1981 People 81, curated by Sarah McFadden, Duane Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, NY
1981 Heresies Second Annual Benefit, Grey Art Gallery, New York University, New York, NY
1980 December Invitational, Noho Gallery, New York, NY
1980 Small Works, curated by Patterson Sims New York University Art Galleries, New York, NY
1978 Art for Collectors, Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, OH
1978 Art on Paper, Weatherspoon Gallery, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC

Exhibitions
& Events

Press

Gloria Steinem Celebrates Her 91st Birthday With an Evening of Art and Activism
W Magazine
Spring 2025
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ILY2 Gallery Works From the Inside Out
Impulse
Winter 2024 / 2025
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I Love You. ILY2.
Whitehot
Winter 2024 / 2025
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Make Sure to See These Shows in New York This February
Elephant
Winter 2024 / 2025
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At 74, Bonnie Lucas, Artist of Feminine Macabre, Is Getting Her Big Break
Artnet
Winter 2024 / 2025
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A Wave of Galleries Will Debut at Art Basel Miami Beach This Year
The New York Times
Winter 2024 / 2025
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Art Basel Miami Beach 2024: What To Expect At The Main Fair
Forbes
Winter 2024 / 2025
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The Ultimate Guide to Art Basel Miami Beach 2024
Harper's Bazaar
Winter 2024 / 2025
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In pictures: giving overlooked artists their due at Art Basel Miami Beach
The Art Newspaper
Winter 2024 / 2025
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What to look out for at Art Basel Miami Beach 2024
Wallpaper
Winter 2024 / 2025
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‘I’m challenging the narrative’: what to expect at this year’s Art Basel Miami
The Guardian
Winter 2024 / 2025
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New Art Basel Director Bridget Finn Talks Pushing the Envelope
L'Officiel
Winter 2024 / 2025
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Seven new galleries to discover at Art Basel Miami Beach 2024
Art Basel
Winter 2024 / 2025
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Paris with the Effect of Rain
Artforum
Fall 2024
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Paris Art Week Is Packed With Satellite Fairs for Every Taste
ARTnews
Fall 2024
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We'll Always Have... Art Fairs
Unsubbed
Fall 2024
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Bonnie Lucas Has Been Making Dark oquette Art Since Before TikTok Existed
Nylon
Winter 2023 / 2024
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Bonnie Lucas: Small Worlds
The Brooklyn Rail
Winter 2023 / 2024
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The Lo-Down Culture Cast Episode 13 – Artist Bonnie Lucas
The Lo-Down
Winter 2023 / 2024
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Bonnie Lucas
Artforum
Summer 2023
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Bonnie Lucas 1978-2023
Contemporary Art Daily
Spring 2023
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Bonnie Lucas' Explorations of Traditional Femininity Come to ILY2
Widewalls
Spring 2023
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Bonnie Lucas at ILY2
Oregon ArtsWatch
Spring 2023
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VizArts Monthly: Forward Motion
Oregon ArtsWatch
Spring 2023
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Bonnie Lucas
KBOO
Spring 2023
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Bonnie Lucas, Still Playing With Dolls
The New York Times
Summer 2020
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Bonnie Lucas, “Young Lady”
Time Out
Winter 2016 / 2017
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