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Biography

From the late 1960s onwards, Jackie Winsor (b. 1941, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, d. 2024, New York) made sculpture that expanded a Minimalist vocabulary of simple geometric forms, using unrefined materials and grids to investigate process and labor. Working by hand and spending years on some pieces, Winsor produced intimate, tactile sculptures that engage the relationship between interior and exterior. 

In 1979, the Museum of Modern Art presented a mid-career retrospective of Winsor’s work, the first retrospective show of a female artist in the MoMA’s department of Painting and Sculpture since 1946. The retrospective traveled to the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto and the Fort Worth Art Museum in Texas. Winsor was included in the 1977, 1979, and 1983 Biennial Exhibitions at the Whitney Museum, and in 1984 her work was featured in American Art Since 1970 at the Whitney Museum. P.S. 1 inaugurated its newly renovated space in Long Island City, Queens with a retrospective of her work in 1997. More recently, her one-person exhibition Jackie Winsor: With and Within was held at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, Connecticut in 2014 – 2015. In 2022, Winsor had a one-person exhibition at MAMCO in Geneva, Switzerland.

Winsor’s work is in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago; Detroit Institute of Arts; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; among others.

Selected Works

Selected Works Thumbnails
Jackie Winsor Chunk Piece, 1970 hemp ​36 x 38 in. (91.4 x 96.5 cm)

Jackie Winsor
Chunk Piece, 1970
hemp
36 x 38 in. (91.4 x 96.5 cm)

Jackie Winsor 30 to 1 Bound Trees, 1971-72 (destroyed 1972; remade 2016), 1 tree, 30 saplings, hemp rope 20’ x 5' diameter Installation view, "Revolution in the Making: Abstract Sculpture by Women, 1947 – 2016," Hauser Wirth & Schimmel, Los Angeles CA, 2016
Jackie Winsor 30 to 1 Bound Trees, (detail), 1971-72 (destroyed 1972; remade 2016) 1 tree, 30 saplings, hemp rope 20’ x 5' diameter Installation view, "Revolution in the Making: Abstract Sculpture by Women, 1947 – 2016," Hauser Wirth & Schimmel, Los Angeles CA, 2016
Jackie Winsor 30 to 1 Bound Trees, 1971-72 (destroyed 1972; remade 2016), 1 tree, 30 saplings, hemp rope 20’ x 5' diameter Installation view, "Revolution in the Making: Abstract Sculpture by Women, 1947 – 2016," Hauser Wirth & Schimmel, Los Angeles CA, 2016

Jackie Winsor
30 to 1 Bound Trees, 1971-72 (destroyed 1972; remade 2016),
1 tree, 30 saplings, hemp rope
20’ x 5' diameter
Installation view, "Revolution in the Making: Abstract Sculpture by Women, 1947 – 2016," Hauser Wirth & Schimmel, Los Angeles CA, 2016

Jackie Winsor Pink and Blue Piece, 1985 mirror, wood, paint, cheesecloth 31 x 31 x 31 inches (78.7 x 78.7 x 78.7 cm)
Jackie Winsor Pink and Blue Piece, (detail), 1985 mirror, wood, paint, cheesecloth 31 x 31 x 31 inches (78.7 x 78.7 x 78.7 cm)
Jackie Winsor Pink and Blue Piece, 1985 mirror, wood, paint, cheesecloth 31 x 31 x 31 inches (78.7 x 78.7 x 78.7 cm)

Jackie Winsor
Pink and Blue Piece, 1985
mirror, wood, paint, cheesecloth
31 x 31 x 31 inches (78.7 x 78.7 x 78.7 cm)

Jackie Winsor Jackie Winsor, Installation view, Rennes, France, 1988

Jackie Winsor
Jackie Winsor, Installation view, Rennes, France, 1988

Jackie Winsor Double Circle, 1970-71 hemp, 21 x 54 inch diameter

Jackie Winsor
Double Circle, 1970-71
hemp, 21 x 54 inch diameter

Jackie Winsor Solid Lattice, 1970 wood and nails 27 x 24 x 22 inches
Jackie Winsor Solid Lattice, (detail), 1970 wood and nails 27 x 24 x 22 inches
Jackie Winsor Solid Lattice, 1970 wood and nails 27 x 24 x 22 inches

Jackie Winsor
Solid Lattice, 1970
wood and nails
27 x 24 x 22 inches

Jackie Winsor Brick Square, 1971 300 stacked bricks 15 x 50 x 50 in. (38.1 x 127 x 127 cm)

Jackie Winsor
Brick Square, 1971
300 stacked bricks
15 x 50 x 50 in. (38.1 x 127 x 127 cm)

Jackie Winsor Inset Wall Piece White with Four Color Spectrum Drawing, 1995 plaster and color pencil ​18" x 18" x 4 1/2"
Jackie Winsor Inset Wall Piece White with Four Color Spectrum Drawing, 1995 plaster and color pencil ​18" x 18" x 4 1/2"
Jackie Winsor Inset Wall Piece White with Four Color Spectrum Drawing, 1995 plaster and color pencil ​18" x 18" x 4 1/2"

Jackie Winsor
Inset Wall Piece White with Four Color Spectrum Drawing, 1995
plaster and color pencil
18" x 18" x 4 1/2"

Jackie Winsor Circle/Square, 1987 Concrete, pigment 34 x 34 x 34 inches (86.4 x 86.4 x 86.4 cm)

Jackie Winsor
Circle/Square, 1987
Concrete, pigment
34 x 34 x 34 inches (86.4 x 86.4 x 86.4 cm)

Jackie Winsor Gold Piece, 1987 Concrete, pigment, gold leaf 32" x 32" x 32"; 81.2 x 81.2 x 81.2 cm

Jackie Winsor
Gold Piece, 1987
Concrete, pigment, gold leaf
32" x 32" x 32"; 81.2 x 81.2 x 81.2 cm

Jackie Winsor Jackie Winsor, PS1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City, New York, 1997-98

Jackie Winsor
Jackie Winsor, PS1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City, New York, 1997-98

Jackie Winsor Bound Square, 1972 wood and twine 77 x 78 x 14 1/2 inches

Jackie Winsor
Bound Square, 1972
wood and twine
77 x 78 x 14 1/2 inches

Jackie Winsor Burnt Piece, 1977-78 concrete, burnt wood, and wire 36 x 36 x 36 inches Collection of The Museum of Modern Art

Jackie Winsor
Burnt Piece, 1977-78
concrete, burnt wood, and wire
36 x 36 x 36 inches
Collection of The Museum of Modern Art

Jackie Winsor Chunk Piece, 1970 hemp ​36 x 38 in. (91.4 x 96.5 cm)

Jackie Winsor
Chunk Piece, 1970
hemp
36 x 38 in. (91.4 x 96.5 cm)

Jackie Winsor 30 to 1 Bound Trees, 1971-72 (destroyed 1972; remade 2016), 1 tree, 30 saplings, hemp rope 20’ x 5' diameter Installation view, "Revolution in the Making: Abstract Sculpture by Women, 1947 – 2016," Hauser Wirth & Schimmel, Los Angeles CA, 2016

Jackie Winsor
30 to 1 Bound Trees, 1971-72 (destroyed 1972; remade 2016),
1 tree, 30 saplings, hemp rope
20’ x 5' diameter
Installation view, "Revolution in the Making: Abstract Sculpture by Women, 1947 – 2016," Hauser Wirth & Schimmel, Los Angeles CA, 2016

Jackie Winsor Pink and Blue Piece, 1985 mirror, wood, paint, cheesecloth 31 x 31 x 31 inches (78.7 x 78.7 x 78.7 cm)

Jackie Winsor
Pink and Blue Piece, 1985
mirror, wood, paint, cheesecloth
31 x 31 x 31 inches (78.7 x 78.7 x 78.7 cm)

Jackie Winsor Jackie Winsor, Installation view, Rennes, France, 1988

Jackie Winsor
Jackie Winsor, Installation view, Rennes, France, 1988

Jackie Winsor Double Circle, 1970-71 hemp, 21 x 54 inch diameter

Jackie Winsor
Double Circle, 1970-71
hemp, 21 x 54 inch diameter

Jackie Winsor Solid Lattice, 1970 wood and nails 27 x 24 x 22 inches

Jackie Winsor
Solid Lattice, 1970
wood and nails
27 x 24 x 22 inches

Jackie Winsor Brick Square, 1971 300 stacked bricks 15 x 50 x 50 in. (38.1 x 127 x 127 cm)

Jackie Winsor
Brick Square, 1971
300 stacked bricks
15 x 50 x 50 in. (38.1 x 127 x 127 cm)

Jackie Winsor Inset Wall Piece White with Four Color Spectrum Drawing, 1995 plaster and color pencil ​18" x 18" x 4 1/2"

Jackie Winsor
Inset Wall Piece White with Four Color Spectrum Drawing, 1995
plaster and color pencil
18" x 18" x 4 1/2"

Jackie Winsor Circle/Square, 1987 Concrete, pigment 34 x 34 x 34 inches (86.4 x 86.4 x 86.4 cm)

Jackie Winsor
Circle/Square, 1987
Concrete, pigment
34 x 34 x 34 inches (86.4 x 86.4 x 86.4 cm)

Jackie Winsor Gold Piece, 1987 Concrete, pigment, gold leaf 32" x 32" x 32"; 81.2 x 81.2 x 81.2 cm

Jackie Winsor
Gold Piece, 1987
Concrete, pigment, gold leaf
32" x 32" x 32"; 81.2 x 81.2 x 81.2 cm

Jackie Winsor Jackie Winsor, PS1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City, New York, 1997-98

Jackie Winsor
Jackie Winsor, PS1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City, New York, 1997-98

Jackie Winsor Bound Square, 1972 wood and twine 77 x 78 x 14 1/2 inches

Jackie Winsor
Bound Square, 1972
wood and twine
77 x 78 x 14 1/2 inches

Jackie Winsor Burnt Piece, 1977-78 concrete, burnt wood, and wire 36 x 36 x 36 inches Collection of The Museum of Modern Art

Jackie Winsor
Burnt Piece, 1977-78
concrete, burnt wood, and wire
36 x 36 x 36 inches
Collection of The Museum of Modern Art