Andy Warhol Museum
Through April 19
Various times
You likely know her iconic work–from her 1985 love stamp to her bold posters conveying social messages. But did you know that the artist behind these works was also a nun, activist and a teacher?
For the first time, Pittsburghers will get a look at the inspiring life and legacy of pioneering American artist Corita Kent (1918–1986). The first museum show to survey Kent’s prolific 30-year career, Someday is Now: The Art of Corita Kent runs at The Warhol from January 31st through April 19th.
Featured in the one-of-a-kind exhibition are more than 200 engaging prints made by Kent, including early abstractions and lyrical works, along with ephemera such as cover designs and documents. Also featured will be rarely shown photographs that Kent used in her teaching and for documentary purposes.
Museum visitors will explore Kent’s signature style, which combines bold bright imagery and provocative texts—culled from a variety of cultural sources, including ad slogans, newspapers and song lyrics. Her clever “textual amalgams” juxtapose the secular and the religious, pop culture and fine art and pain and hope, often incorporating poignant quotes from literary visionaries such as Samuel Beckett and Gertrude Stein.
A designer, educator and activist for civil rights and anti-war causes, Kent developed inventive silkscreen and serigraphy techniques, creating thousands of posters and murals that reflect her passion for faith and politics, embodying messages of love and peace. One of the most popular graphic artists of the 1960s and 1970s, Kent’s designs address universal questions and issues from a particularly turbulent time in history. Her universal works continue to influence artists today, possessing a timeless relevance.
Kent took the name Sister Mary Corita in 1936, when she entered the Roman Catholic order of Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Los Angeles. She went on to earn her BA from Immaculate Heart College in 1941, and her MA in Art History at the University of Southern California in 1951. Between 1938 and 1968, Kent lived and worked in the Immaculate Heart Community, teaching at Immaculate Heart College and chairing its art department. In 1968, Kent left the order and moved to Boston, where she devoted herself to making art, until her death from cancer in 1986.
