18 ON VIEW: A DANGEROUS WOMAN ON VIEW A DANGEROUS WOMAN: SUBVERSION & SURREALISM IN THE ART OF HONORÉ SHARRER SEPTEMBER 29, 2017–JANUARY 7, 2018 HONORÉ SHARRER (1920–2009) CONCEIVED of painting as a voice of change and empathy. With equal parts wit, seduction and bite, her work presents a potent and often unsettling critique of the conventions of American culture. SCMA was pleased to present the first exhibition to fully reveal the formidable voice of this artist. Sharrer’s rise in the art world was meteoric. From age 19 and throughout her 20s, she was included in major exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Museum of Modern Art, which already included one of her paintings in its collection. By 31, she was repre- sented by a top New York art gallery and featured in Time, Newsweek and Life magazines. Because of her commitment to progressive ideals, however, Sharrer found herself increasingly mar- ginalized in the tense political climate of the Cold War, the period following World War II marked by hostility among the United States, Soviet Russia and Communist China. Furthermore, her representational art was dis- missed in the rigidly male-driven, abstraction-focused art world of that era. She responded to these chal- lenges by developing a sophisticated strategy of visual subversion that maintained her reformist concerns and poetic vision while concealing sharp critiques. Sharrer confidently drew from an impressive range of materi- al—including art history, myth, nursery rhymes and mass media—and used it as a tool to expose an oppressive social and political climate that diminished the richness of human experience. The themes in Sharrer’s work, while rooted in the passions of her time, are also remarkably—though perhaps not surprisingly—relatable today. Issues of socioeconomics, inclusion and acceptance, woman- hood, religion and politics permeate her work and inspired some powerful and compelling programs. Two “First Look” programs for museum members and the media, led by Jessica Nicoll, attracted capacity crowds and generated early buzz and positive media coverage about this show. SCMA’s new Thursday-evening hours created a perfect opportunity for a “First Look” for students, as well, and our inaugural Thursday-evening program in September 2017 was an exhibition preview specifically for students and a huge success. Modeled on the popular Night at Your Museum event each spring, this fall event drew more than 350 students, dressed up for an evening of mocktails and conversation about and amidst the art. The program was put together by our terrific team of four post-baccalaureate fellows, and its success led to additional Thursday-evening programming collaborations throughout the year. In November 2017, we were privileged to explore the work, life and legacy of Sharrer in a panel discussion with the artist’s son Adam Zagorin, former senior correspondent for Time magazine. “Recovered Histories: Shaping the Legacy of Honoré Sharrer” also featured panelists M. Melissa Wolfe, curator of American art at the Saint Louis Art Museum (and editor of the exhibition catalog, Subversion & Surrealism in the Art of Honoré Sharrer), and moderator Anna Lee, postdoctoral fellow in Smith’s art department. This exhibition was organized by the Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio, and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Presentation of this exhibition at SCMA was made possible by the support of the Judith Plesser Targan, class of 1953, Art Museum Fund and the Charlotte Frank Rabb, class of 1935, Fund. For detailed information about the exhibition and related programs visit the A Dangerous Woman website: smith.edu/artmuseum/On-View/Past-Exhibitions