‘Each of my paintings can be seen as an autobiographical marker, a cue, by which I evoke a moment from my past, or my projected future, each a charm to conjure a mental reality and to give it physical form.’—Mary Heilmann
‘Past Present Future’ is an exhibition of paintings, furniture, and ceramics, by preeminent American artist Mary Heilmann. Along with earlier work dating back to the 1970’s, the exhibition features a new body of paintings made during the global pandemic at her Long Island studio in Bridgehampton, New York. Heilmann’s career has been spent melding abstraction with elements from popular culture and craft traditions. Her works often draw from her own personal experiences, and subtly reference Heilmann’s favorite landscapes, songs and movies, resulting in a wholly original and pioneering oeuvre.
Grounded in the soul of California, Mary Heilmann’s practice draws from her memories of the distinctive colors and lines of the West Coast’s landscape and surf culture. Under these influences and through the deceptively simple means of painting —color, surface, and form— Heilmann physically manifests nostalgic impulses, memories, and cultural references from the viewer’s collective memory, allowing the work to remain accessible on both personal and universal levels.