Joan Semmel, 93, shows ‘Continuities’ nude paintings
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- Joan Semmel is a 93‑year‑old painter who has lived and worked in her SoHo studio since 1970.
- Continuities is her new exhibition, showing four recent paintings at Alexander Gray Associates (April 17–May 30, 2026) and Xavier Hufkens (April 22–June 27, 2026).
- Semmel continues to use her own nude body as model, now depicting aging features such as sagging skin and flopping breasts to emphasize authenticity.
- She was a key figure in the 1970s feminist art movement, collaborating with Anita Steckel, Judith Bernstein and Hannah Wilke, and opened a Prince Street storefront in 1973 to exhibit her erotic series.
- Mythologies and Me, a 1976 triptych by Semmel, juxtaposed a Playboy centerfold parody with a De Kooning “Woman” to challenge the notion that nude art could be political.
- Jewish Museum is presenting a retrospective of Semmel’s work, featuring the monumental triptych and highlighting her career.
- Semmel remains politically engaged, voicing frustration over gender‑equality rollbacks and supporting younger women activists, despite health limits that now require her to paint seated.
Why it matters: Semmel’s resurgence brings institutional validation to feminist nude art that was once marginalized, offering museums fresh content and younger artists a precedent for unapologetic bodily representation; her "Continuities" shows in New York and Brussels, underscoring that age and health constraints no longer silence a pioneering voice.
