Rachel Lachowicz facts for kids

Rachel Lachowicz (born 1964) is an American artist who lives and works in Los Angeles, California. She is famous for taking well-known artworks by modern male artists, like Carl Andre and Richard Serra, and remaking them using red lipstick.

Learning and Teaching Art

Rachel Lachowicz studied art at the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California. She earned her art degree in 1988. Today, she is a professor of art at Claremont Graduate University. She has even been the head of the art department there.

Her Unique Artworks

Lachowicz creates many types of art, including sculptures, paintings, and performance art. Her work often mixes different ideas. For example, she explores how art can be both abstract (focused on shapes and colors) and about the human body. She also looks at how everyday items, like cosmetics, can become art.

In the 1990s, she was part of a group of artists called 'Lipstick Feminism'. This group included artists like Janine Antoni. They used makeup and other feminine items in their art to make a statement.

Using Lipstick in Art

Since the 1980s, Rachel Lachowicz has used her art to talk about important issues. She highlights how women have often been left out of art history. She also points out that women still face challenges in the art world today.

She often takes famous art pieces made by men and changes them. She uses lipstick, which is usually linked to women, as her main material. By choosing lipstick, Lachowicz explores ideas about what we buy and use. She also looks at how makeup connects to family traditions, our bodies, and abstract art.

Red Not Blue (1992)

One of Lachowicz's well-known performances is Red Not Blue from 1992. In this piece, she reinterpreted a famous performance by artist Yves Klein from 1960.

During her performance, which took place at the Shohsana Wayne Gallery in Santa Monica, California, there was a live audience. A violinist played music throughout the event. Red Not Blue explored ideas about gender and bodies. It focused on the male body, which is often seen as powerful and abstract in art. This was a contrast to how the female body is often shown as very physical.

Sarah (1993)

Another very famous artwork by Lachowicz is her sculpture called Sarah (1993). For this piece, she recreated a sculpture by the minimalist artist Richard Serra. Serra's original work was called One Ton Prop (1969). Lachowicz made her version using red lipstick wax.

Lay Back and Enjoy It (2017)

In 2017, Lachowicz created a large art installation at the Shoshana Mayne Gallery in Santa Monica. This artwork explored themes of power and authority. The artist made life-size models of places that represent power, like a church and a Sheriff's station. She then covered these structures in her special red lipstick. This show was Lachowicz's seventh solo exhibition.

Awards and Recognition

Rachel Lachowicz has received many important awards for her art. These include the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship and the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award. She also received a fellowship at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture.

Many art experts, like Amelia Jones and Kirk Varnedoe, have written about her work in books. There are also many other publications that explore her art.

Lachowicz's art has been shown in major exhibitions around the world. Her work has been displayed at places like the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London. It has also been shown at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. Her art is part of the permanent collections of many museums. These include the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Her art can also be found at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem and the Orange County Museum of Art.