Judy Ledgerwood is a contemporary artist based in Chicago. Since the 1980’s she has been exploring light, color, and space in paintings that combine the formal vocabulary of concrete abstraction with influences from pop culture to create vividly colored compositions. She combines decorative patterning, elements of textile design and other traditionally female crafts, with bold color and assertive brush strokes, traits associated with the historically male-dominated tradition of gestural abstraction. Often using stereotypically “feminine” elements, such as pastel colors and stylized floral patterns, Ledgerwood merges formalist and feminist concerns in works that are both sensual and subversive, with the ability to resonate beyond their initial impact.
Ledgerwood’s work has been exhibited widely and is included in many museum collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, MCA Chicago and LACMA. She has completed several prominent commissions, including paintings for the American Embassies in San Salvador, El Salvador and Vientiane, Laos; a large stained glass installation for the Bir Hakeim Paris Metro RATP Station, Paris, France; and site specific installations for the
Graham Foundation (Chicago),
Art Institute of Chicago and
Bloomberg in NYC.
