Christina Ramberg reception

Christina Ramberg of the Chicago Imagists group was best known for her acrylic on masonite paintings, but she also incorporated found objects into her works, which often center on stylized mid-century depictions of women and their clothes, especially classic fetish-style undergarments. Ramberg, who died in 1995, saw the work as a way to discuss the female body. “Vertical Amnesia” will be on display in the Henry Street Gallery from March 3-July 16; a preview reception takes place from 5-7 p.m. on March 2.

media release: Taking its title from one of the artist’s signature works in MMoCA’s collection, Vertical Amnesia will center this often overlooked and at times forgotten artist within the Chicago Imagist group. Gaining visibility in this contemporary moment, Christina Ramberg utilized a dizzying amalgam of “found” visual materials—a singular cartoon cel, sewing patterns, fabric grains and textures, girdles and cinchers, wisps of hair and fur—to create works that center on the forgotten, concealed, or overlooked. Even her preferred substrate of Masonite allowed Ramberg to render her brushstrokes nearly invisible. Providing a unique perspective on the world of women and their clothing, her delicate works have garnered great attention in recent years for opening a gateway to discussing femininity, femme, and the gaze. Often read as fetishistic representations, the artist described her work as stemming from her own interest in clothing and how it can be used to talk about the female body.

The exhibition will be on view in the Henry Street Gallery, March 3, 2023 – July 16, 2023.

Exhibitions in the Henry Street Gallery are generously funded through an endowment established by the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation.

Catch the Film Accompanying the Exhibition

Related programming to date includes Nina Menkes’ documentary Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power, in which the filmmaker uses clips from hundreds of movies to illuminate the patriarchal narrative codes that hide within supposedly “classic” set-ups and camera angles, and demonstrates how women are frequently displayed as objects for the use, support, and pleasure of male subjects.

Building on the essential work of Laura Mulvey and other feminist writers, Menkes shows how these not-so-subtle embedded messages affect and intersect with the twin epidemics of sexual abuse and assault, as well as employment discrimination against women, especially in the film industry. The film screens March 2 at 7 PM.

MMoCA Cinema is $7 per screening, or free for MMoCA members and anyone age 18 and younger. Become a member for free through our Friend of MMoCA level, and get free admission to all the cinema series films. Ticket sales begin at 6:30 PM in the Museum Lobby, and the film begins at 7 PM.