Judith Godwin was born in Suffolk, Virginia where her art career was strongly supported by her parents, especially her father who had a career in architecture and landscape gardening. She attended Mary Baldwin college in 1950, and it was not until 1953 that she moved to New York and enrolled at the Art Students League. She trained under Hans Hofmann, eventually beginning to associate her art with the new Abstract Expressionist movement, developing a dynamic style in which she emphasized loose geometric forms and a prism of color. Towards the end of the 1950s Godwin began to develop a much harsher tone in her work, she stated, "“if you were a [woman] painter . . . you had to paint as strongly, as violently as the men did." During the 1960s she toured around the world and picked up influence for her work from multiple different countries such as France, Spain, Italy, India, and Egypt. It was during this time period that Judith Godwin began experimenting and expanding her work. She formed an interest in interior design, soon becoming an apprentice to a plasterer, carpenter, and a mason. She even began following in her father's footsteps with landscape gardening while creating Abstract Expressionist pieces for a New York fabric house. In the 1970s and 80s her work increased in complexity as she started to combine structure and 'spontaneity'. She used processes such as stencil applications to create petal like forms, while also adding metallic and pastel paints to keep the work interesting. Judith Godwin continues to explore and grow as painter today. It is said that after painting for so many years she formed the patience that many artists lacked. She knew how to use paint but was and still is always willing to expand her repertoire and try something new. Movement #1 oil on canvas 44 x 70" 1962 Bent Steel oil on canvas 42" x 68" 1974 Sources: Biography Judith Godwin's Gallery Hans Hofmann's Gallery Questions: 1. Based on what you have observed from looking at both Judith Godwin's and Hans Hofmann's works, what are some techniques you think she picked up from Hofmann after training under him? What are some key similarities/differences in their work? 2. Godwin was mostly surrounded by male artists in the Abstract Expressionist movement, how do you think this impacted her work? 3. Judith Godwin constantly traveled and explored new types of art, why do you think it was important for artists to travel and explore different countries and practice new techniques?
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