Mina Loy: Strangeness Is Inevitable

Dates:

April 6, 2023 - September 17, 2023

Location:

Shaw Ruddock Gallery, Boyd Gallery

The exhibition is the first monographic presentation of the art of Mina Loy, one of the most inscrutable artists and poets of the twentieth century.

Selected Works

A drawing in graphite on brown paper of the face of a woman with dark hair in a hat with a wide brim — *Devant le miroir,* ca. 1905, graphite on brown paper mounted on cardboard, by Mina Loy. 16 x 13 in. (40.64 x 33.02 cm). Collection of Roger L. Conover. Photography by Jay York.

a painting of human figures dancing and gesturing — *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.

A painting in sepia tones of human figures dancing in a room — *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.

A photograph of a woman in a white costume with dark stripes — *Mina Loy Dressed for the Blindman’s Ball,* 1917, gelatin silver print, by an unknown artist. 5 ½ x 8 7/16 in. (14 x 21.5 cm). Collection of Roger L. Conover. Photography by Luc Demers.

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.

a pencil drawing of a man's face/head and shoulders. He has arched eyebrows and is wearing a hat. — *Portrait of Man Ray*, ca. 1925, graphite, by Mina Loy, 20 × 12 in. (50.8 × 30.48 cm). Private collection. Photography by Jay York.

a pencil drawing on brown paper showing a woman's face and shoulders, wearing a broad-brimmed hat. — *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

a drawing on sepia paper of a woman with short red hair — *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.

a book cover in sepia with red type — *Lunar Baedecker* [sic], 1923 by Mina Loy. Private collection. Photography by Luc Demers.

black and white image of a bunch of calla lillies in a vase — 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.

a collage on an orange background showing a womans body and various smaller items — *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.

an ethereal image in shades of blue of a floating face and hands with starsge in shades of blue of a floating face and hands with stars — *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

an ethereal image in shades of blue of a floating face and hands with stars — *Stars*, 1932, mixed media on board, by Mina Loy. 31 × 34 in. (78.74 × 86.36 cm). Private collection. Photography by Luc Demers.

a mixed media piece with a white tower and a figure falling into a blue spacee — *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.

an envelope and a letter showing a knitting needle with measurement markers — *Knitting Needles with ruler* 1946, by Mina Loy. Private collection. Photography by Luc Demers.

a mixed media piece showing two figures, one with long dark hair, the other in a blue coat — *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.

a mixed media piece showing a person suspended on a clothesline — *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.

a mixed media piece showing ten figures lying on a background — *Communal Cot*, 1949, cut-paper and mixed-media collage mounted on board, by Mina Loy. 27 1/4 × 46 1/2 in. (69.2 × 118.1 cm). Private collection, Chicago. Photography by Michael Tropea, Chicago

A mixed media piec whosing a mans head and various round and irregularly shaped objects — *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.

a mixed media piece with a woman's head and various irregularly shaped objects — *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.

A book cover for the exhibition Mina Loy: Strangeness Is Inevitable"

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

Review the printed program for the concert here.

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