Sandy Lerman talks about the life and work of Nancy Spero, an artist and activist whose career spanned fifty years. Born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1926, Spero lived for much of her life in New York City, but also in Chicago, Florence and Ischia, Italy and Paris. She was married to, and collaborated with artist Leon Golub. Spero and Golub were equally committed to exploring a modernist representation of the human form, with its narratives and art historical resonances, even as Abstract Expressionism was becoming the dominant idiom.

Spero’s commitment to the empowerment and greater acceptance of female artists made her a leading figure in the feminist art movement of the 1960’s and 70’s. She was renowned for her continuous engagement with contemporary political, social, and cultural concerns. She was a founding member of the first women’s cooperative gallery, A. I. R., in Soho. Spero once expressed her thinking this way: “I’ve always sought to express a tension in form and meaning in order to achieve a veracity. I have come to the conclusion that the art world has to join us, women artists, not we join it. When women are in leadership roles and gain rewards and recognition, then perhaps “we” (women and men) can all work together in art world actions.” Her work is found in museums around the world.

Sandy Lerman is a figurative artist, Palm Beach County Art teacher from 1984 to 2011, and current Armory Art Center teacher, living in Lake Worth for many years. Sandy grew up in New York City and attended Queens College. During the 70’s, she was involved with the co-op galleries in Soho. She is currently in an exhibition of Armory faculty at the Northwood University Gallery in West Palm Beach.

We'll be continuing our discussion of the role that women’s experiences play in contemporary art, and some of the many ways this is expressed.