Judy Chicago at Jeffrey Deitch

On View through November 2nd.

Before Judy Chicago created her well-known feminist artwork, The Dinner Party, or co-founded the Feminist Art Program at CalArts, she was delving into minimalism—a genre that has been basically defined by men. Contrasting her peers’ work of the era (more masculine steel geometric forms or red resin cubes) Chicago’s minimal forms were hued in joyous pastels. At Jeffrey Dietch, a selection of such works from 1965-72 are on view, offering a unique insight into the artist’s multifaceted career. During this period, Chicago delved into the masculine field of auto body painting (taking a course where she was the only female out of 25 students), and began her experiments in pyrotechnics. Chicago upends the assumed aesthetics of both with her fantastically painted car hoods and atmospheric performance works with fireworks and dry ice.