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One of those paintings,Macarena of Miracles(1971), was included in the 1972 Whitney Biennial.
Audrey Flack,Self Portrait with Flaming Heart,2022.
But Flack was undeterred.
She leapt from Abstract Expressionism in the 1950s to photorealism in the 1970s to public sculpture in the 1980s.
(Her work will also be the subject of aParrish Art Museumexhibition this fall.)
Audrey Flack,A Brush with Destiny,2023.
Jesus, Charlton Heston as Moses, Queen Elizabeth I, Marvels Doctor Strange and Cleatheyre all here.
When Im painting now, everything is at my fingertips.
Its magical, she says.
Audrey Flack,Abstract Force: Homage to Franz Kline,1951–52.
She has dubbed her new style post-Pop baroque.
They say before you die you see everything from your life.
In my 92 years, a lot pops up.
Audrey Flack,Chanel,1974.
Audrey Flack,A Brush with Destiny,2023.
From a young age, she pursued art.
Her memoir is riddled with stories from this era, both good and bad.
Working on her statue of Queen Catherine of Braganza in the 1980s.
She left Abstract Expression, seeking more structure and stability in both her art and her life.
But it cost her: I paid a heavy price by absenting myself.
Audrey Flack,Abstract Force: Homage to Franz Kline,195152.
At home in her studio, January 2024.
The other photorealists were men; cars and trucks were common subject matter.
Flack, however, painted lipstick and strings of pearls, icons like Marilyn Monroe and John F. Kennedy.
Images are powerful, she says, so she painted the images that meant something to her.
And when she picked up the verboten airbrush?
Audrey Flack,Chanel,1974.
As she was building her career, Flack struggled in her personal life.
She scrambled to find care for her daughter and the money to pay for it.
There was scant research on autism, and often mothers, including Flack, were blamed.
Thats my life, she says.
People dont like that.
They dont want you to be both.
But success came too.
Her work was acquired by The Met, MoMA, and the Whitney.
She left her husband and remarried, happily.
But after two years, she found her way back to artthrough sculpture.
She took up sculpting goddesses, putting modern spins on ancient figures of female strength.
Medusa, Daphne, and Medea became my sisters and guides, she writes.
Working on her statue of Queen Catherine of Braganza in the 1980s.
This was heartbreaking to Flack.
And she maintains that Catherine was against slavery personally, even if England permitted it while she was queen.
At home in her studio, January 2024.
She hasnt let them.
At the opening of her show at Hollis Taggart last weekend, it was packed despite the downpour outside.
It was the culmination of something, but hardly an end.
Audrey Flacks memoir,With Darkness Came Stars,is out now.
Hershow at Hollis Taggartgallery in New York City is open through April 20, 2024.
With Darkness Came Stars
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