The visionary work of the Austrian-Liechtenstein artist Anne Marie Jehle (Feldkirch, 1937–2000, Vaduz) encompasses a wide range of media including sculpture and installation, painting, drawing, photography and text. A critical examination of social structures and power dynamics, especially those concerning female identity and gender roles, lies at the core of her practice.
Jehle gained international recognition in the 1970s, when her work was situated within the context of the feminist avant-garde and the Fluxus movement. In the mid 1980s, she withdrew from public life, abruptly halting her artistic career.
Her ability to transform everyday objects and personal experiences into powerful works of art gives her work a continued relevance, especially amid today’s discussions on gender and self-determination in art.
To mark a generous donation from the Anne Marie Jehle Foundation, Vaduz, in 2021, the Kunstmuseum St. Gallen is showcasing the significant oeuvre of this underrepresented artist.
Anne Marie Jehle worked obsessively and experimentally. Her oeuvre aligns with the feminist avant-garde of the 1970s, and its actualization of artistic self-empowerment places it in the context of radical female sculptors like Louise Bourgeois (1911–2010) and Alina Szapocznikow (1926–1973), who also drew great inspiration from personal experience. Jehle’s work was also influenced by the Neo-Dada, Fluxus, Happening and Conceptual Art movements. Her art consistently conveys subversive critiques of gender-specific power structures, with contradictory gender roles in both private and global contexts often parodied with ironic humor. She brilliantly subverted the male-dominated art world, addressing the cult of genius and gender relations by referencing historically significant artists.
at Kunstmuseum St. Gallen
until March 9, 2025