Marilyn Minter

Marilyn Minter is an American artist known for her provocative and visceral paintings and photographs exploring the intersections of beauty, glamour and desire. Born in 1948 in Shreveport, Louisiana, and raised in Florida, Minter studied fine art at the University of Florida before earning her MFA from Syracuse University. Over the decades, Minter has established herself as a powerful voice in contemporary art, challenging societal norms and perceptions of femininity through her work.

Marilyn Minter creates hyperrealistic, glossy images that blend painting and photography to create sensuous, highly detailed images. Her work frequently depicts close-ups of the female body — varnished feet, made-up lips and eyes — the intensity of the cropped details renders the subjects almost grotesque, pushing the boundaries of what is considered beautiful. Minter often captures her subjects through panes of wet or steamed glass, or in mid-action splashing a pool of liquid, inviting viewers to reconsider the allure of glamour and its underlying grit.

Throughout her career, Minter explores the theme of sexuality and sensuality, as well as the role of women artists in representing women’s desires. Her high-gloss images consider women’s power in media and the way we consumer popular culture. Through her art, Minter expresses her interest in paradoxes. Her works are both alluring and unsettling, forcing viewers to confront the contradictions inherent in our obsession with perfection.

Marilyn Minter has been the subject of many solo exhibitions around the world and was featured in the 2006 Whitney Biennale. The artist earned a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1998, and her works can be found in the collections of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Museum of Modern Art in New York and more.