Unveiling Maria Evert Hopman's "Intuition and Self Revelation"
The work of pioneering painter, graphic artist and designer Marcia Evert Hopman will be on exhibition at the Max Sullivan Gallery in The University of Texas at Arlington’s College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs (CAPPA) from Jan. 30 through Feb. 24.
The exhibition, Marcia Evert Hopman: Intuition and Self Revelation, begins with an opening reception and discussion panel at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 1. The collection is courtesy of David Hopman, UTA associate professor of landscape architecture, who is Marcia’s son. CAPPA, the School of Architecture and the Department of Art and Art History are co-sponsors.
“She was an accomplished artist but became very obscure after her retirement and passing,” David said. “This exhibition is an acknowledgement, recognition and rediscovery of her work. She was very smart and an outstanding abstract artist in what was then a very male-dominated field.”
In 1945, Marcia Hopman was one of only two women who attended the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, where she studied both architecture and landscape architecture. She also was an art student at the New School for Social Research, Black Mountain College and George Washington University.
She lived for 17 years in Europe, exhibiting at galleries both abroad and in the United States, including Aspen, Colorado; Paris; Rome; Washington, D.C.; Vienna and Salzburg,
David said one impetus for the exhibition is Kerstin Jessie, an art historian and curator for Vienna’s Leopold Museum. Jessie’s interest in and rediscovery of Marcia’s art led to the first exhibition of her work in Austria in more than 50 years. The exhibition took place between October 2021 and March 2022 at the Landesgalerie Krems, a museum devoted to modern art near Vienna.
Jessie will be part of a panel discussion at the kickoff reception for Marcia Evert Hopman: Intuition and Self Revelation, appearing via Zoom. Other panelists are David; August Jordan Davis, UTA associate professor and Department of Art and Art History chair; and Carrie Iverson, artist and UTA adjunct professor of printmaking. Josh Nason, UTA associate professor of architecture, will serve as moderator.
David said he hopes visitors will enjoy the sweep of his mother’s work, which exemplifies her aesthetics, philosophy and art.
“Her style is very representative of trends in the non-objectivist movements of the mid-20th century,” David said. “She delved into many forms of art, including lithographs, etchings, oil and acrylics, collage, watercolor and pastel works.”
Written by Herb Booth, UTA Press