Dates:
Location:
Shaw Ruddock Gallery, Boyd GallerySelected Works


L’Amour dorloté par les Belles Dames, 1906, watercolor by Mina Loy, 15 1/2 × 22 1/4 in. (39.37 × 56.52 cm). Private collection. Photography by Jay York.

La Maison en Papier, 1906, gouache and graphite, by Mina Loy. 19 3/4 × 12 1/2 in. (50.17 × 31.75 cm). Private collection.


Mina Loy, 1920, gelatin silver print, by Man Ray. 6 1/2 × 5 1/8 in. (16.51 × 12.95 cm). Private collection. Photography by Luc Demers. Man Ray © Man Ray 2015 Trust / Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY / ADAGP, Paris 2022.

Portrait of Man Ray, ca. 1925, graphite, by Mina Loy, 20 × 12 in. (50.8 × 30.48 cm). Private collection. Photography by Jay York.

Bust-Length Portrait of Marianne Moore, ca. 1917, pencil on woven paper, by Mina Loy. 6 1/8 × 3 1/2 in. (15.56 × 8.89 cm). 2006.4542, The Rosenbach, Philadelphia, 2006.4542

Girl with Red Hair, ca. 1921, watercolor and graphite, by Mina Loy. 13 5/8 × 9 3/4 in. (34.61 × 24.77 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, bequest of Scofield Thayer, 1982 (1984.433.249). Image copyright © The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Image Source: Art Resource, NY.

Lunar Baedecker [sic], 1923 by Mina Loy. Private collection. Photography by Luc Demers.

Joella Haweis Bayer, photograph of Mina Loy, Calla Lily Lamp “Arum Lumineux,” ca. 1927, gelatin silver print, 7 7/8 × 4 15/16 in. (20 × 12.5 cm). Private collection. Photography by Luc Demers.

Untitled (Surreal Scene), ca. 1935, gouache with collage on panel, by Mina Loy. 20 3/4 × 16 3/4 in. (52.71 × 42.55 cm). Private collection. Photography by Jay York.

Moons I, 1932, mixed media on board, by Mina Loy. 26 1/4 × 35 1/4 in. (66.68 × 89.54 cm). Private collection. Photography by Brad Stanton

Stars, 1932, mixed media on board, by Mina Loy. 31 × 34 in. (78.74 × 86.36 cm). Private collection. Photography by Luc Demers.

Untitled (The Drifting Tower), ca. 1950, cut-paper and mixed-media collage on canvas, by Mina Loy. 28 3/4 × 39 in. (73.03 × 99.06 cm). Private collection. Photography by Jay York.

Knitting Needles with ruler 1946, by Mina Loy. Private collection. Photography by Luc Demers.

Untitled, ca. 1950, cut-paper and mixed-media collage on board, by Mina Loy. 23 1/4 × 27 in. (59.06 × 68.58 cm). Private collection. Photography by Jay York.

Christ on a Clothesline, ca. 1955–59, cut-paper and mixed-media collage, by Mina Loy. 24 × 41 1/2 × 4 1/2 in. (60.96 × 105.41 × 11.43 cm). Private Collection. Photography by Dana Martin-Strebel.


Prospector 1, 1954, mixed media on paper mounted to panel, by Mina Loy.58 1/4 × 35 1/2 in. (147.96 × 90.17 cm). Private collection. Photography by Jay York.

Prospector 2, 1954, mixed media on paper mounted to panel, by Mina Loy. 58 1/4 × 35 1/2 in. (147.96 × 90.17 cm). Private collection. Photography by Jay York.
About
Mina Loy: Strangeness is Inevitable is the first monographic presentation of the art of Mina Loy (born Mina Gertrude Lowy, 1882–1966), one of the most inscrutable artists and poets of the twentieth century. Over 80 paintings, drawings, and constructions made by Loy through the course of her life, are united to reveal her omnivorous creativity as an image-maker, author, and cultural arbiter. These works, drawn from a dozen institutional and private lenders, are complemented by extensive, never-before assembled, archival materials that will contextualize her art within the arc of her life. Courageous enough to defy the conventions of her era, both socially and aesthetically, Loy developed a creative career that included the creation of poetry and prose, visual art, and design. Curated by Jennifer R. Gross, the show is accompanied by a fully illustrated eponymous catalogue published by Princeton University Press.
Major support for the exhibition is provided by the Elizabeth B. G. Hamlin Fund, the Becker Fund for the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, the Zell Family Foundation, Peter J. Grua ’76 and Mary G. O’Connell ’76, the Wyeth Foundation for American Art, Robert Freson, Selina F. Little, Furthermore: a program of the J. M. Kapan Fund, Colby College Museum of Art, and the Roy A. Hunt Foundation.
Read the illustrated exhibition labels here.
Read the press release here.
The exhibition catalogue is available for purchase at the Bowdoin Store and other fine booksellers.
Programming
Opening lecture: “Mina Loy: Strangeness is Inevitable” with Roger Conover
Kresge Auditorium, Visual Arts Center, Bowdoin College
Thursday, April 27, 2023
Enjoy this recording of the opening lecture: "'Mina Loy: Strangeness Is Inevitable' with Roger Conover," recorded on April 27, 2023.
Roger Conover, Executive Editor emeritus, MIT Press, and Mina Loy’s editor and literary executor, introduces the new exhibition at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, "Mina Loy: Strangeness is Inevitable," the first monographic presentation of the art of Mina Loy, one of the one of the most inscrutable artists and poets of the twentieth century.
Presented by the Bowdoin College Museum of Art.
"Music at the Museum: The Muses of Mina Loy: New York and Paris in “Les Anneé Folles (The Crazy Years)” with George Lopez, Beckwith Artist-in-Residence and Dr. Gulimina Mahamuti, Special Guest Artist
Friday, April 21, 2023
For Further Reading
Selected Online Resources
A number of online resources exist for further exploration of Mina Loy’s career and creative work. We recommend the following:
Paul Blackburn and Robert Vas Dias, “Interview with Mina Loy,” 1965, Penn Sound, Center for Programs in Contemporary Writing at the University of Pennsylvania: https://writing.upenn.edu/pennsound/x/Loy.php.
Suzanne W. Churchill, Linda Kinnahan, and Susan Rosenbaum, Mina Loy: Navigating the Avant Garde: https://mina-loy.com/
Nancy Kuhl, “Mina Loy Papers Online,” December 5, 2017, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, https://beinecke.library.yale.edu/article/mina-loy-papers-online.
Mina Loy’s Artwork and Chronological List of Mina Loy’s Exhibitions: http://www.eng.fju.edu.tw/English_Literature/ekphrasis/Mina_Loy/minaloy_artwork.htm.
Selected Period Publications Featuring Mina Loy’s Work
Poetry and artwork by Mina Loy appeared in numerous journals dedicated to modern art, literature, and culture. Many of these so-called “little magazines” can now be accessed electronically. We recommend these resources:
Index of Modernist Magazines, https://modernistmagazines.org/
Modernist Journals Project: https://modjourn.org/
The Dial Archives: https://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/serial?id=thedial
Installation Views
Press
"New BCMA exhibition explores the multimedia rebellion of Mina Loy," Bowdoin Orient, May 5, 2023
"The World Is Finally Ready for Mina Loy," Hyperallergic, April 12, 2023
"First Retrospective of Poet and Artist Mina Loy," FineBooks & Collections, February 6, 2023