Dorothy Iannone

Dorothy Iannone (August 9, 1933 – December 26, 2022) was an American visual artist. Her autobiographical texts, films, and paintings explicitly depict female sexuality and "ecstatic unity." She lived and worked in Berlin, Germany.

Early life Iannone was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on August 9, 1933. Her father died when she was two years old and she was raised by her mother Sarah Nicoletti Iannone, later Sarah Pucci. She graduated from Boston University in 1957 with a B.A. in American Literature. She went on to study English literature at the graduate level at Brandeis University. In 1958, she married the painter James Upham and the couple moved to New York City. Her small wooden statues of celebrities with visible genitals, including Charlie Chaplin and Jacqueline Kennedy, especially display with the artist's interest in African tribal statues. In protest, Dieter Roth dropped out of the exhibition, and the curator of the Kunsthalle Bern, Harald Szeeman, resigned. Roth became Iannone's muse and features in much of her artwork. His nickname for her was "lioness." She also created paintings of her and Roth in sexual union as historical couples. For instance, I Am Whoever You Want Me To Be (1970) and I Begin To Feel Free (1970) reference both Antony and Cleopatra as well as brightly colored African tribal imagery. Iannone and Roth remained friends until his death in 1998.

Exhibitions Day for Night: Whitney Biennial (2005), Whitney Museum of American Art, New York Dieter Roth & Dorothy Iannone (2005), Sprengel Museum, Hanover, Germany Seek the Extremes: Dorothy Iannone and Lee Lozano (2006), Kunsthalle, Vienna, Austria Rebelle. Art and Feminism 1969-2009 (2009), Museum voor Moderne Kunst, Arnhem, The Netherlands Dorothy Iannone: Lioness (2009), New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York NY Dorothy Iannone: The Next Great Moment In History Is Ours (2012), MOCA Tucson, Tucson, AZ Dorothy Iannone, Innocent and Aware (2013), Camden Arts Centre, London, UK Artists' Books of Dorothy Iannone (2014), New York Art Book Fair at MoMA PS1, Long Island City, NY

Public collections Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, France Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien (mumok), Vienna, Austria The Living Art Museum (NYLO) Reykjavik, Iceland Musée d'art moderne de Saint Etienne métropole