Judy Chicago: Revelations

Judy Chicago: Revelations, this year’s Ruhrfestspiele art exhibition at Kunsthalle Recklinghausen, showcases a pioneer of Feminist Art. Born in the United States in 1939, Judy Chicago gained prominence in the late 1960s for making work from a woman-centered perspective, which challenged the male-dominated landscape of the art world. An artistic polymath, Chicago's work is characterised by a commitment to craft and experimentation, evident in her subject matter, methodology and choice of material. Throughout her six-decade career, Chicago has developed a distinctive visual language that contests the absence and erasure of women in the Western cultural canon. Her individual and collaborative projects address themes of women’s history; birth; masculinity; notions of power; the Holocaust; death and extinction; and a longstanding concern for climate justice. 

The exhibition was organised and curated by Serpentine, London, and has been reimagined to suit the unique conditions of the Kunsthalle. With over 160 exhibits-including works on paper, needlework, and historical photographs and videos, many being shown in Germany for the first time- this exhibition is a significant survey dedicated to one of the most important living artists today. 

Judy Chicago: Revelations art exhibition of the Ruhrfestspiele 2025 at Kunsthalle Recklinghausen, curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist (Artistic Director) and Chris Bayley (Exhibitions Curator) with Liz Stumpf (Assistant Exhibitions Curator), Serpentine, London; and Dr Nico Anklam (Museum Director) with Kerstin Weber-Baumann (Exhibitions Curator), Kunsthalle Recklinghausen.

A public conversation between Dr Jana Johanna Haeckel (Brussels) and Dr Nico Anklam (Recklinghausen) on “Judy Chicago: Visionary Ecofeminist and Radical Educator” will take place at the Kunsthalle on July 17, at 7pm. 

The exhibiton Judy Chicago: Revelations at Kunsthalle Recklinghausen was generously funded and supported by the Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen, the City of Recklinghausen, the Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund, Sparkasse Vest Recklinghausen, Kunststiftung NRW, the Ministry of Culture and Science in Northrhine-Westphalia, the RuhrKunstMuseen and WDR3 as media partner.

The Kunsthalle Recklinghausen is one of Recklinghausen’s municipal museums with a collection of over 5,000 works that has continuously grown since it was founded by the artist group “junger westen” in a 1,000 sqm former WWII above ground bunker in 1950. The Kunsthalle Recklinghausen is part of the 21 RuhrKunstMuseen, a unique group of museums across the Ruhr area. The cooperation between Kunsthalle Recklinghausen and Serpentine is part of the Kunsthalle’s 75th anniversary exhibtions in 2025.

Building new connections between artists and audiences, Serpentine presents pioneering contemporary art exhibitions and cultural events with a legacy that stretches back over half a century, from a wide range of emerging practitioners to the most internationally recognised artists, writers, scientists, thinkers, and cultural thought leaders of our time. Based in London’s Kensington Gardens, across two sites, Serpentine North and Serpentine South, Serpentine features a year-round, free programme of exhibitions, architectural showcases, education, live events and technological activations, in the park and beyond the gallery walls. Proud to maintain free access for all visitors, Serpentine also reaches an exceptionally broad audience and maintains a profound connection with its local community.

The Museums of the City of Recklinghausen  
Museum Director and Head of the Kunsthalle: Dr. phil. Nico Anklam / Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeit/Curator: Kerstin Weber, MA. For all press inquiries, please contact Kerstin Weber-Baumann at weber [​at​] kunst-re.de.