Judy Pfaff

The Neuberger Museum of Art welcomed Judy Pfaff, the artist who created the mixed-media work, 1 1/2 Baths: Exposed Brick (1988), that was on view as part of The Friends at 50: Selections from the Collection exhibition at the Neuberger Museum of Art in Spring 2022. 

Though critics frequently cite Pfaff as a pioneer of installation art, her work spans across disciplines from painting to printmaking to sculpture to installation. During this Artist Talk, live at the Neuberger Museum on April 7, 2022, Pfaff discusses her work and how it is often, and perhaps best described, as painting in space. 

This event is part of the Daniel P. Paduano and Janet W. Prindle Lecture Series

Generous support for The Friends at 50 Artist Talk series is provided by ArtsWestchester, with support from the Westchester County Government.

Introduction by Neuberger Museum of Art Director Tracy Fitzpatrick.

About the Artist

Often cited as a pioneer of installation-art and contributor to the Pattern and Decoration Movement (P&D), Judy Pfaff has created work that spans disciplines from painting to printmaking and sculpture to installation. Born in London in 1946, Pfaff received a BFA from Washington University Saint Louis (1971) and an MFA from Yale University (1973) where she studied with Al Held. She exhibited work in the Whitney Biennials of 1975, 1981, and 1987, and represented the United States in the 1998 Sao Paulo Bienal. Her pieces reside in the permanent collections of MoMA, the Whitney Museum of Art, Tate Gallery, Brooklyn Museum of Art, and Detroit Institute of Arts, among others. She is currently represented by the Miles McEnery and Accola Griefen galleries in New York and has been previously represented by Holly Solomon, Carl Solway and Susanne Hilberry. She is the recipient of many awards including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Sculpture Center (2014), the MacArthur Foundation Award (2004), and the Guggenheim Fellowship (1983). Pfaff lives and works in Tivoli, New York. Generous support for The Friends at 50 Artist Talk series is provided by ArtsWestchester, with support from the Westchester County Government.

About the Exhibition

The Friends at 50: Selections from the Collection is a celebration of one very important aspect of the work of the Friends of the Neuberger Museum of Art, a dedicated group of local, regional, and national supporters who help the museum grow and thrive. The exhibition is comprised of major works of art that have come into the Neuberger Museum’s collection through the efforts of the Friends. The objects are remarkable in their breadth and depth and show aspects of the marvelous generosity of the Friends organization over the last fifty years.

The exhibition was on view March 9 through June 12, 2022.

Tracy Fitzpatrick, Director
Neuberger Museum of Art

Judy Pfaff, Artist