Laura Owens at Whitney Museum of American Art

For more than twenty years, Los Angeles–based artist Laura Owens has pioneered an innovative approach to painting that has made her one of the most influential artists of her generation. Her bold and experimental work challenges traditional assumptions about figuration and abstraction, as well as the relationships among avant-garde art, craft, pop culture, and technology.

This mid-career survey, the most comprehensive of Owens’s work to-date, will feature approximately 60 paintings from the mid-1990s until today. The exhibition will highlight her significant strides over the past few years, showing how the early work sets the stage for gripping new paintings and installations.

This exhibition is organized by Scott Rothkopf, Deputy Director for Programs and Nancy and Steve Crown Family Chief Curator, with Jessica Man, curatorial assistant.

Laura Owens (b. 1970), Untitled, 1999 (installation view, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York). Acrylic and waterproof ink on canvas; two panels, 122 x 60 in. (309.9 x 152.4 cm) each. Private collection; courtesy the Brant Foundation, Greenwich, Connecticut. Photograph by Ron Amstutz

Installation view of Laura Owens (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, November 10, 2017–February 4, 2018). From left to right: Untitled, 1998; Untitled, 1998; Untitled, 1998; Untitled, 1998; Untitled, 1998. Photograph by Ron Amstutz

Installation view of Laura Owens (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, November 10, 2017–February 4, 2018). From left to right, top to bottom: Untitled, 2006; Untitled, 2011-12; Untitled, 1999; Untitled, 1998; Untitled, 1998; Untitled, 1998; Untitled, 1997; Untitled, 1997; Untitled, 1997. Photograph by Ron Amstutz

Installation view of Laura Owens (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, November 10, 2017–February 4, 2018). From left to right, top to bottom: Untitled, 2006; Untitled, 2006; Untitled, 2006; Untitled, 2004; Untitled, 2006; Untitled, 2008; Untitled, 2006; Untitled, 2006; Untitled, 2006; Untitled, 2004; Untitled, 2006; Untitled, 2009; Untitled, 2003; Untitled, 2003. Photograph by Ron Amstutz

Installation view of Laura Owens (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, November 10, 2017–February 4, 2018). From left to right: Untitled, 2006; Untitled, 2002; Untitled, 2009. Photograph by Ron Amstutz

Installation view of Laura Owens (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, November 10, 2017–February 4, 2018). From top to bottom: Untitled, 2012; Untitled, 2012. Photograph by Ron Amstutz

Installation view of Laura Owens (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, November 10, 2017–February 4, 2018). From left to right: Untitled, 1995; Untitled, 2015; Untitled, 2013; Untitled, 2014; Untitled, 2014; Untitled, 2013. Photograph by Ron Amstutz

Installation view of Laura Owens (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, November 10, 2017–February 4, 2018). From left to right: Untitled, 2016; Untitled, 2014; Untitled, 2013; Untitled, 2013. Photograph by Ron Amstutz

Installation view of Laura Owens (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, November 10, 2017–February 4, 2018). From left to right: Untitled, 2015; Untitled, 2015. Photograph by Ron Amstutz

Laura Owens (b. 1970), Untitled, 2015 (installation view, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York). Acrylic, oil, and vinyl paint on linen, with powder-coated aluminum strainer; five panels, 108 x 84 in. (274.3 x 213.4 cm) each. Collection of the artist; courtesy Capitain Petzel, Berlin. Photograph by Ron Amstutz

Installation view of Laura Owens (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, November 10, 2017–February 4, 2018). Photograph by Ron Amstutz

Laura Owens, Untitled, 1997. Acrylic and oil on canvas, 78 x 84 in. (198.1 x 213.4 cm). Collection of Mima and César Reyes. © Laura Owens

Laura Owens, Untitled, 1997. Oil, acrylic, and airbrushed oil on canvas, 96 × 120 in. (243.8 × 304.8 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Thea Westreich Wagner and Ethan Wagner  P.2011.274. © Laura Owens

Laura Owens, Untitled, 1998. Acrylic on canvas, 66 x 72 in. (167.6 x 182.9 cm). Collection of the artist. Courtesy the artist / Gavin Brown’s Enterprise, New York and Rome; Sadie Coles HQ, London; and Galerie Gisela Capitain, Cologne. © Laura Owens

Laura Owens, Untitled, 2000. Acrylic, oil, and graphite on canvas, 72 x 66 1/2 in. (182.9 x 168.9 cm). Collezione Giuseppe Iannaccone, Milan. © Laura Owens

Laura Owens, Untitled, 2004.  Acrylic and oil on linen, 66 x 66 in. (167.6 x 167.6 cm). Collection of Nina Moore. © Laura Owens

Laura Owens, Untitled, 2006.  Acrylic and oil on linen, 56 x 40 in. (142.2 x 101.6 cm). Charlotte Feng Ford Collection. © Laura Owens

Detail of Laura Owens, Untitled, 2012. Acrylic, oil, vinyl paint, charcoal, yarn, and cord on hand-dyed linen, 33 panels, 35 1/2 x 33 1/4 in. (90.2 x 84.5 cm) each. Collection of Maja Hoffmann/LUMA Foundation. © Laura Owens

Detail of Laura Owens, Untitled, 2012. Acrylic, oil, vinyl paint, charcoal, yarn, and cord on hand-dyed linen, 33 panels, 35 1/2 x 33 1/4 in. (90.2 x 84.5 cm) each. Collection of Maja Hoffmann/LUMA Foundation. © Laura Owens

Detail of Laura Owens, Untitled, 2014. Ink, silkscreen ink, vinyl paint, acrylic, oil, pastel, paper, wood, solvent transfers, stickers, handmade paper, thread, board, and glue on linen and polyester, five parts: 138 1/8 x 106 ½ x 2 5/8 in. (350.8 x 270.5 x 6.7 cm) overall. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from Jonathan Sobel  2014.281a-e. © Laura Owens

Detail of Laura Owens, Untitled, 2012. Acrylic, oil, vinyl paint, charcoal, yarn, and cord on hand-dyed linen, 33 panels, 35 1/2 x 33 1/4 in. (90.2 x 84.5 cm) each. Collection of Maja Hoffmann/LUMA Foundation. © Laura Owens

Laura Owens, Untitled, 2012.  Acrylic, oil, vinyl paint, resin, pumice, and fabric on canvas, 108 x 84 in. (274.3 x 213.4 cm). Collection of the artist. Courtesy the artist / Gavin Brown’s Enterprise, New York and Rome; Sadie Coles HQ, London; and Galerie Gisela Capitain, Cologne. © Laura Owens