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Natalie Frank

Natalie Frank Exhibition Checklist FINAL.pdf

Natalie Frank: Unbound was the first survey exhibition of Brooklyn, New York-based artist Natalie Frank’s (American, born 1980) drawings inspired by some of the best-known and most controversial literary narratives.

Spanning a decade of Frank’s feminist drawing practice, Unbound presented work from the artist’s four major drawing series, each of which is the result of Frank’s rigorous research.

“Fairy tales captivated me because many began as women’s oral tales that articulated female desires and fears,” said Frank. “Yet over time their authorship was erased and their voices neutered. I restore the identities of these overlooked female artists and transform their stories to create contemporary, paradigm-breaking female heroines.”

In Tales of the Brothers Grimm (2011–14), Frank presents the unvarnished original nineteenth century versions of these tales as images that celebrate female agency by elevating heroines and villainesses alike. Expanding on the history of illustrated books, figurative painting, and personal and political narrative, Frank’s drawings comprise the largest collection of Grimm’s fairy tales ever portrayed by an artist.

With her characteristically fluid gestural marks, Frank adds visual drama to tales of revolt and transformation in her black-and-white gouache-on-paper drawings that represent key scenes from Jack Zipes’s anthology The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (2017).

In a suite of gouache and chalk pastel drawings, Frank reclaims the feminist Story of O (2017–18) and gives image to the psychosexual narratives of the book’s key scenes. In masterfully carnal compositions, she depicts O, the female protagonist, consensually engaging in scenarios of physical submission, domination, love, lust, and sexual freedom. This series deepens Frank’s exploration into intertwined representations of identity and desire, laying bare the power structures and practices surrounding the complicated sexuality of female bodies.

Finally, Frank’s drawings of Madame d’Aulnoy’s (2019–20) shrewd heroines are anything but conventional. She presents the author’s fantastical stories through a complex layering of color, form, material, and gesture. Frank’s visual contradictions—combinations of abstraction and figuration—parallel d’Aulnoy’s female protagonists, who, by embodying both evil and virtuosity, present a nuanced understanding of female identity.

Frank’s practice, in dialogue with worldwide conversations about agency, power, gender, and the #MeTOO and TIME’S UP movements, continues to raise questions of equity and advocacy for women’s voices. 

Natalie Frank: Unbound was organized by Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (MMoCA) and Kemper Museum and co-curated by Leah Kolb, former curator of exhibitions at MMoCA and Erin Dziedzic, director of curatorial affairs at Kemper Museum.

While this exhibition celebrates themes of female agency, we recognize some of the imagery and subject matter in this exhibition may be difficult for some. Should you or someone close to you need help or if you would like to be more involved in efforts to end gender-based violence, please contact our partners at the UMKC Women’s Center at 816-235-1638 or by clicking this link.

Natalie Frank, American, born 1980, All Fur III, 2011–14, from Tales of the Brothers Grimm, gouache and chalk pastel on paper, 30 x 22 inches. Private Collection. © Natalie Frank. Photo: Farzad Owrang.

Natalie Frank, American, born 1980, Belle-Belle V, 2019–20, from Madame d’Aulnoy, gouache and chalk pastel on paper, 30 x 22 inches. Collection of Shari Siadat. © Natalie Frank. Photo: Farzad Owrang.

Natalie Frank, American, born 1980, Lucian of Samosata, “Eucraetes and Pancrates” (c. 170 C.E.), 2016, from The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, gouache on paper, 13¼ x 8¾ inches. Private Collection. © Natalie Frank. Photo: Farzad Owrang.

Installation view, Natalie Frank: Unbound, January 28–May 15, 2022, Charlotte Crosby Kemper Gallery, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. Photo: E. G. Schempf, 2022.

Google Arts and Culture Virtual Exhibition Tour

Natalie Frank and Erin Dziedzic tell Kansas City what to expect in the upcoming exhibition, Natalie Frank: Unbound

Artspeak Radio with artist Natalie Frank and Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art Exhibition Curator Erin Dziedzic | KKFI

21c Museum Director and Chief Curator, Alice Gray Stites, and 21c Assistant Curator, Amethyst Rey Beaver, recently spoke with New York-based artist Natalie Frank.

Artist Check-in: Natalie Frank | 21c Museum Hotel

The artist penned a recent op-ed about the influence Rego's work, including on her own drawing practice.

What My Mentor, Paula Rego, Taught Me About Feminism, Drawing, and the Potential of a Well-Told Story | artnet news

Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art Announces Natalie Frank: Unbound

Artist Talk | Natalie Frank

Artist Natalie Frank (American, born 1980) discusses her creative practice.

Thursday, May 12, 6 p.m. CT | Kemper Museum & Virtual

The Island of Happiness: Tales of Madame d'Aúlnoy

In conjunction with the program, "Fairy Tales Reimagined: The Brothers Grimm and Natalie Frank," the Young Friends of the Kansas City Public Library provided some texts to supplement the exhibition experience.

All Kinds of Fur
Little Red Cap
The Six Swans
The Juniper Tree
Rapunzel

This exhibition has been generously supported by the R. Crosby Kemper Jr. Exhibition Fund.

Premiere Benefactors

Judy O. Kirk/Kirk Foundation
Linda and Michael Lyon

Sustaining Sponsors

William T. Kemper Charitable Trust, UMB Bank, n.a., Trustee; Bebe & Crosby Kemper Foundation, UMB Bank, n.a., Trustee; Arvin Gottlieb Charitable Foundation, UMB Bank, n.a., Trustee; Missouri Arts Council, a state agency; The Family of Mary Beth Smith Docent Program; Evergy; Christy and Bill Gautreaux; Jack and Karen Holland Visiting Artist Fund; Muriel McBrien Kauffman Foundation; Bebe and Graham Hunt; Matt Smith & Lindsey Patterson Smith; Richard J. Stern Foundation for the Arts, Commerce Bank, Trustee; Murphy-Hoffman Company; Jane Voorhees; Thomas and Sally Wood Family Foundation; Stanley J. Bushman and Ann Canfield; Charles M. Helzberg and Sandra Baer; Spencer Fane LLP; Copaken Family Fund; JE Dunn Construction; Francis Family Foundation; Kansas City University; Linda Lighton and Lynn Adkins; Catherine Mead; Virginia and James Moffett; Miller Nichols Charitable Foundation; Bradley and Linda Nicholson Foundation; Harry Portman Charitable Trust, UMB Bank, n.a., Trustee; SpecChem; Courtney S. Turner Charitable Trust, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee; UMB Financial Corporation; RLS Illumination Fund; The Sosland Foundation

Additional support is generously provided by:

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