Janet Sobel: I Am A Surrealist
Art Basel, Grand Palais, Paris [Premise, P08]
16.10.24 > 20.10.24
Janet Sobel (1893 - 1968, Russia) is one of the 20th century’s most extraordinary talents.
When her son encouraged her to take up painting, this Brighton beach grandmother developed a unique style that combined figurative memory painting with folk art. Relentlessly creative, Sobel encompassed her canvases with an all-over composition of drips, inspiring the likes of Jackson Pollock.
Sobel’s inventive approach caught the attention of dealer Sidney Janis, who included her in his 1943 exhibition American Primitive Paintings. Exhibitions followed at Norlyst and Puma Galleries (1944), and Peggy Guggenheim’s Art of This Century (1946).
Recent exhibitions include Abstract Expressionism (2017) at Royal Academy (London), Women in Abstraction (2021) at Centre Pompidou (Paris), and Janet Sobel: All Over (2024) at Menil Collection (Houston). Collections include MoMA (NY) and Centre Pompidou (Paris).
