Rainbow Shabbat, center panel, from the Holocaust Project, 1992
Collection of the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation;
He purchased his first works by the artist a few years ago at the Art Palm Springs fair, but he “didn’t give them another thought,” he says, until art dealer Tonya Turner Carroll, who sold him the Chicago pieces, called him last July to gauge his interest in becoming the repository of the artist’s 120 prints, 10 of which he already owned. After seeing all the images, Schnitzer says, “I was blown away at how interesting, how technically complex, and how lovely they are.”
That month, Schnitzer attended Chicago’s 81st birthday party at her home and studio in Belen, New Mexico.
“I see this bigger-than-life person with a swath of white hair, and the rest is all purple,” he recalls, “She had sparkling eyes and was full of energy. We hit it off immediately.”
In addition to Chicago’s prints and multiples, Schnitzer acquired several original works, including early sculpture and 10 banners she created last year for her Dior collaboration called What if Women Ruled the World?
“I love Judy’s work,” Schnitzer says. “It grabs you, shakes you up, and forces you to think. She’s clever how she seduces you with these beautiful shapes and forms, and yet they’re very poignant, very strong, very themed, and very graphic.”
Schnitzer was unaware of Chicago’s smoke sculptures until he saw images of them among the prints. Although she stopped creating Atmospheres in 1974, her 2012 fireworks installation as part of the Getty’s Pacific Standard Time exhibitions and performances, returned her to the landscape with an evolved sensitivity to the environment.
“I asked Judy if she was familiar with Desert X,” Schnitzer says, adding that she was interested in participating. “That’s when I called [Desert X founder] Susan Davis and started to put the pieces in place. And then we got others involved.”
Rainbow Shabbat, center panel, from the Holocaust Project, 1992
Collection of the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation; © JUDY CHICAGO/ARTISTS RIGHTS SOCIETY (ARS), NEW YORK; PHOTO © DONALD WOODMAN/ARS, NY