Sonja Sekula (8 April 1918 – 25 April 1963) (also known as Sonia Sekula) was an American artist linked with the

abstract expressionist Abstract expressionism in the United States emerged as a distinct art movement in the aftermath of World War II and gained mainstream acceptance in the 1950s, a shift from the American social realism of the 1930s influenced by the Great Depressi ...

movement, notable for her activity as an "out"

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

in the

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

art world during the 1940s and early 1950s. She met the

surrealists Surrealism is an art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike scenes and id ...

in exile in New York during 1942. On 25 April 1963, she hanged herself in her studio in

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

after many years of mental health issues. She is buried in St. Moritz as she had requested in a letter to her mother.

Early life and education

Sonja Sekula was born in

Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

on 8 April 1918 to a Swiss mother, Berta Huguenin (1896–1980), and a Hungarian father, Béla Sekula (1881–1966), a

philatelist Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. While closely associated with stamp collecting and the study of postage, it is possible ...

. Sekula and her family relocated to New York from Lucerne, Switzerland when she was a child. She lived in New York, New Mexico, Mexico, and in different cities in Europe. Sekula moved to New York in 1936, when her father moved his philatelic business there. In a letter sent to her mother, Sonja described New York as "very gray. All the steel constructions are waking up and their steel shines towards new work." She attended school at

Sarah Lawrence College Sarah Lawrence College (SLC) is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York, United States. Founded as a Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in 1926, Sarah Lawrence College has been coeducational ...

but left after two years, entering the

Art Students League The Art Students League of New York is an art school in the American Fine Arts Society in Manhattan, New York City. The Arts Students League is known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may study f ...

where she studied under Dadaist

George Grosz George Grosz (; ; born Georg Ehrenfried Groß; July 26, 1893 – July 6, 1959) was a German artist known especially for his caricatural drawings and paintings of Berlin life in the 1920s. He was a prominent member of the Berlin Dada and New Obj ...

and Modernist

Morris Kantor Morris Kantor () (1896–1974) was a Russian-born American painter based in the New York City area. Life Born in Minsk on April 15, 1896, Kantor was brought to the United States in 1906 at age 10, in order to join his father who had previously ...

Career

In New York Sekula befriended American poet Carl Sandburg and met the surrealists in exile during 1942. It was during this time that she became part of an international circle of artists, writers, choreographers, and composers in New York in the 1940s, when she was in her early twenties. Peggy Guggenheim included Sekula in the 1943 exhibition "31 Women" at her Art of This Century gallery, and gave Sekula her first solo exhibition in 1946. Betty Parsons Gallery exhibited Sekula's work in 1948. In 1949, she had a third one-man show and was also included in a Betty Parson's group show with

Theodoros Stamos Theodoros Stamos (Greek: Θεόδωρος Στάμος) (December 31, 1922 – February 2, 1997) was a Greek-American painter. He is one of the youngest painters of the original group of abstract expressionist painters (the so-called " Irasc ...

Jackson Pollock Paul Jackson Pollock (; January 28, 1912August 11, 1956) was an American painter. A major figure in the abstract expressionist movement, Pollock was widely noticed for his "Drip painting, drip technique" of pouring or splashing liquid household ...

, and

Barnett Newman Barnett Newman (January 29, 1905 – July 4, 1970) was an American painter. He has been critically regarded as one of the major figures of abstract expressionism, and one of the foremost color field painters. His paintings explore the sense ...

. Despite people holding good opinions of her work, the same could not be said about the artist. Sonja was seen as unfortunate due to not only her mental state, but also her open sexuality. Thus her work is often overlooked. Sekula returned to Switzerland with her family in 1955 and remained there for the rest of her life, although she did return to New York in 1957. In 1955 Sekula had a solo exhibition at Galerie Palette, Zurich. Her work is in the collections of the

Irish Museum of Modern Art The Irish Museum of Modern Art (), also known as IMMA, is Ireland's leading national institution for the collection and presentation of modern and contemporary art. It is located in Kilmainham, Dublin. History Irish art collector Gordon Lam ...

, the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

, the

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1805, it is the longest continuously operating art museum and art school in the United States. The academy's museum ...

, and the

Walker Art Center The Walker Art Center is a multidisciplinary contemporary art center in the Lowry Hill, Minneapolis, Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is one of the most-visited modern and contemporary art museums in ...

. In 2016 her biography was included in the exhibition catalogue ''Women of Abstract Expressionism'' organized by the

Denver Art Museum The Denver Art Museum (DAM) is an art museum located in the Civic Center of Denver, Colorado. With an encyclopedic collection of more than 70,000 diverse works from across the centuries and world, the DAM is one of the largest art museums betwe ...

Personal life

Sonja was extremely passionate about her artwork, expressing how proud she was to be around all the other artists and movements in New York during the 1940s. Her instructor described her as being "easy to get along with" yet also being "highly disturbed" When compared to her other students, Kantor explained "no matter what she did it was of great interest compared with the other students. She was always one of the best in the class. Her work was much more creative and moving than most; it always had great spirit." After joining the Student’s Art league she met André Breton and started joining meetings for the Surrealist Group in exile. She grew very close with him and his wife. Through the group she also became close friends with poet Charles Duit, sculptor David Hare, and Alice Rahon. On a trip to Tangier in 1950 to meet

Paul Bowles Paul Frederic Bowles (; December 30, 1910November 18, 1999) was an American expatriate composer, author, and translator. He became associated with the Moroccan city of Tangier, where he settled in 1947 and lived for 52 years to the end of his ...

Joseph Glasco Joseph Glasco (January 19, 1925 – May 31, 1996) was an American abstract expressionist painter, draftsman and sculptor. He is most known for his early figurative drawings and paintings and in later years for deconstructing the figure to develop ...

was introduced to Sekula by Jane Bowles. Sekula and Glasco remained friends when they returned to New York. In April 1951, the day after the opening of her third exhibition at

Betty Parsons Gallery Betty Parsons (born Betty Bierne Pierson, January 31, 1900 – July 23, 1982) was an American artist, art dealer, and collector known for her early promotion of Abstract Expressionism. She is regarded as one of the most influential and dynamic f ...

, Sekula suffered a breakdown and had to be taken to the psychiatric clinic of the New York Hospital in White Plains by Manina Thoren and Joseph Glasc

Sonja Sekula was also extremely open about her homosexuality, and made frequent references to it in her writings and journals. In one entry, she wrote the following:

1960: "Let homosexuality be forgiven, let us hope that she will be welcome in the Greek mythology and protected by pagan nature gods as well for most often she did not sin against nature but tried to be true to the law of her own - To feel guilt about having loved a being of your own kind body and soul is hopeless - let us hope there were many pure moments in each of these attractions and loves - into which the realm of sphere and eternity and silence entered as well."

Sonja Sekula had a history of mental illness, having been admitted to several mental health clinics throughout her life. This aspect of her life was also well-documented in her own writings and journals:

1957: "I do not feel part of any country or race. I was well when they called me sick and often sick when they thought I am well. Have in thoughts been surprised at the vanity of others and surprised also at my own." 1961: "I hope to die without too much pain. Life was an interesting experience. I do not regret it-"

Exhibitions

* 1943 - Group show '' The Art of This Century gallery#Exhibition by 31 Women, Exhibition by 31 Women'',

Art of This Century gallery The Art of This Century gallery was opened by Peggy Guggenheim at 30 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City on October 20, 1942. The gallery occupied two commercial spaces on the seventh floor of a building that was part of the midtown arts d ...

, New York * 1948 -

Betty Parsons Betty Parsons (born Betty Bierne Pierson, January 31, 1900 – July 23, 1982) was an American artist, art dealer, and collector known for her early promotion of Abstract Expressionism. She is regarded as one of the most influential and dynamic f ...

Gallery, New York *1950 - 'Sonja Sekula (First Exhibition in London)', London Gallery, London * 1953 - Group Show "Nine Women Painters", Bennington College, Bennington, Vermont * 1957 - Galerie Palette, Zurich, Switzerland * 1996 -

Kunstmuseum Winterthur The Kunst Museum Winterthur (The Winterthur Museum of Art) is an art museum in Winterthur, Switzerland run by the local ''Kunstverein''. From its beginnings, the activities of the Kunstverein Winterthur were focused on contemporary art – first ...

, Switzerland * 1996 - ''Sonja Sekula (1918–1963): A Retrospective'', Swiss Institute, New York, USA (12 September - 26 October) * 2016 - "Sonja Sekula, Max Ernst, Jackson Pollock & Friends",

Kunstmuseum Luzern Kunstmuseum Luzern (Museum of Art Lucerne) is an art museum founded in 1932, is located within the Lucerne Culture and Congress Centre (or KKL Luzern). It is one of the most important art museums in Switzerland, known for its temporary rotating ...

, Switzerland * 2017 - ''Sonja Sekula: A Survey'', Peter Blum Gallery, New York * 2019 - "Sparkling Amazons: Abstract Expressionist Women of the 9th St."

Katonah Museum of Art The Katonah Museum of Art is a non-collecting institution geared towards visual arts, located in Katonah, New York. It does not have a permanent collection, but holds temporary exhibitions. The museum was founded in 1953, in one room at the loc ...

, Westchester County, NY. * 2023 - '' Action, Gesture, Paint: Women Artists and Global Abstraction 1940-1970''

Whitechapel Gallery The Whitechapel Gallery is a public art gallery in Whitechapel on the north side of Whitechapel High Street, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The original building, designed by Charles Harrison Townsend, opened in 1901 as one of the fi ...

, London

Bibliography

* ''Womb'' - poem and drawing - VVV, March 1943 * ''Who was Sonia Sekula?'', Art in America, October 1971 * ''A Golden Girl Escaping Into Infinity'', New York Times, 20 September 1996 * ''Sonja Sekula - Im Zeichen der Frage, im Zeichen der Antwort. Ausgewählte Texte und Wortbilder'', (in German and English) Lenos Verlag, Zürich 1996. * ''Dunkelschwestern - Annemarie von Matt und Sonja Sekula'', by Roger Perret and Roman Kurzmeyer, 2008 * ''Sonja Sekula & Friends'', by Kunstmuseum Luzern, 2016 *

Early life and education

Career

Personal life

Exhibitions

Bibliography

References

Further reading