Nancy Davidson: Breathless

November 20, 1999 - January 16, 2000


Installation view. Photo: Gregory Benson.
Nancy Davidson makes sculptures from large, colorful weather balloons that she provocatively dresses, binds, and corsets with rope, fishnet, and silver lamé, evoking the strength and vulnerability of the female body.

Sexuality exudes from these sculptures but so does a carnival-like humor. They recall both the exaggerated femininity of Mae West and the exaggerated femininity of drag queens impersonating the female.

Davidson's work can be seen as part of a larger trend that emerged in the 1980s in which artists such as Kiki Smith, Robert Gober and Rona Podick explored the fragmented human body.

Curated by: Judith Tannenbaum


Institute of Contemporary Art | University of Pennsylvania
118 S. 36th St. Philadelphia, PA 19104-3289 | T 215.898.7108 | F 215.898.5050

Copyright © 2004-2008, Institute of Contemporary Art. All rights reserved.
Website developed by Zero Defect Design LLC.