Susanna Coffey “Crimes of the Gods”

steven harvey fine art projects

[Image: Susanna Coffey, Illustration from from The Homeric Hymn to Demeter (1988) woodcut, 13 3/4 x 13 3/4 in.]

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Steven Harvey Fine Art Projects presents our third solo exhibition of work by Susanna Coffey, Crimes of the Gods. This exhibition includes works from the 1980s, along with recent paintings.

Featured in the exhibition are woodcuts from Coffey’s 1988 limited edition artist book, The Homeric Hymn to Demeter, utilizing a translation by Apostolos Athanassakis. The myth is the story of Persephone’s kidnapping by Hades, the response of her mother, the goddess Demeter, and Persephone’s ultimate resolution. The book was printed in letterpress, alongside Coffey’s woodblock illustrations. The exhibition also includes painting, from the same period, that deals with the Homeric myth along with recent self-portraits, some of which verge on abstraction.

The 1988 book captures what Coffey describes as the “criminal behavior of patriarchs,” which has a strong relationship to the current #metoo movement. Her woodcuts and self-portraits together reveal the modern experiences of women and their relationship to the several thousand year old hymn. In an essay that accompanies the exhibition, Coffey writes, “Now I see that the tale told in The Homeric Hymn is more of an ongoing truth than a myth and that all of my art has been involved with its lessons.”