Judy Chicago

A leader in the feminist art movement, Judy Chicago’s practice encompasses traditional fine art mediums and craft forms such as ceramics, embroidery, and glasswork.

Rainbow Man is part of the artist’s PowerPlay series, created between 1982 and 1987, which focuses on representations of masculinity and the social construction of power. In this triptych, Chicago explores the perceived threat of femininity as a force that is first leveraged by the symbolic male figure, then repelled, and ultimately overpowers.

Seeking to subvert the convention of heroic Renaissance painting, Chicago adopts a vivid palette and embraces a novel painting technique. To replicate the vibrant luminosity of fresco, the artist’s process commenced with a clear gesso base on linen and a sprayed acrylic underpainting, followed by thin layers of oil paint.