Pat Taub
The art world is seriously skewed towards male artists. Only 13 percent of artists in American museums are women, while only 15 percent are Black, Indigenous and People of Color.
This dismal profile persists in spite of bold challenges by feminists, like the Guerrilla Girls, who emerged in 1985, donning guerrilla masks and staging women’s art exhibits in Manhattan while plastering posters all over New York, humorously pointing out the small percentage of women artists in museums and art galleries.
An iconic Guerrilla Girls poster
While the Guerrilla Girls received a lot of attention, their impact was negligible as women and gender-fluid artists continue to be vastly underrepresented in museums and galleries.
Speedwell Contemporary in Portland, Maine is among those galleries popping up across the country committed to overcoming the gap represented by male-dominated exhibits. Speedwell was founded in 2015 by photographer Jocelyn Lee to showcase the works of “mid-to-late career women and gender fluid artists of all races and ethnicities.”
Speedwell Contemporary Gallery
Speedwell’s name was taken from Old English well-wishes extended to a traveler before a long journey. Adding to Speedwell’s positive vibes is the multi-colored neon light set atop its roof that reads “Hopeful,” and designed by Maine artist Charlie Hewitt.
The gallery occupies a corner lot with windows that coax in ample natural light. It’s a small intimate space, with a welcoming energy. Speedwell features solo exhibits that run for several weeks. On the day I visited, Greta Bank’s installation, “Deep Fake” was nearing the end of its 6-week run. (You have until May 13th to view it.)
Greta Bank’s installation, “Deep Fake”
After a few minutes absorbing Bank’s installation, it was clear that Speedwell is fulfilling its goal to showcase cutting-edge work grounded in contemporary concerns. Bank has created an immersive installation inspired by a super volcano that occurred 400 million years ago. The viewer is invited to enter an intimate large tent-like installation, and to lie down in a space surrounded by brightly colored patchwork images of mass extinction, like skeletons and raging fires. The act of lying down was humbling, driving home the overriding presence of the natural world.
Stretched out in Bank’s installation, I experienced immense sadness for the devastation humans have brought to our planet. As I relaxed into this sacred space my grief turned to a new resolve to do my part to address global warming.
Yours truly inside Greta Bank’s installation draped with a stole provided by the artist to convey the sacred element in her work
In addition to solo exhibits, Speedwell offers two-month artist residencies. I spoke with Deborah Klotz. Speedwell’s second artist in residence in 2020. Klotz is an object and image-maker, employing diverse materials, like iron prints and physical objects, such as large wooden wheels draped with cooper and steel woven lace.
Klotz found being in residence provided her with the space and time to be immersed in her work. Through daily interactions with gallery visitors, she was constantly adjusting her exhibit, adding an organic, fluid quality to it. Klotz looks back on her Speedwell residency as a “powerful growth experience.”
Deborah Klotz’s installation at Speedwell
Rachel Gloria Adams describes the joy and freedom she experienced as a resident artist:
“I got to sew with my mom, paint with my dad, dance with my sister, collaborate with my husband and show my daughters what it looks like to be a black woman chasing her dream.”
Rachel Gloria Adams, during her summer residency at Speedwell, 2021
Jessica Gandolf, who has exhibited at Speedwell, found it to be transformative: “The spirit of collaboration and support is unmatched in my lifelong experience of exhibiting my work.”
Looking ahead, Speedwell is in the process of creating an archive that will include exhibition catalogs and documentaries. The archive will function as a legacy for Speedwell artists.
You owe it to yourself, if in the vicinity of Speedwell, to visit this vibrant gallery to expand your senses and to honor the brilliant artists, who often aren’t recognized in traditional art settings. In these troubled times, we all need to interact with art that moves our souls and reminds us that a world without art is an empty world.
