Geometry: Selected Works from the Estate of Mary Ann Unger

Mary Ann Unger Geometry: Selected Works From The Estate
June 14–July 22, 2011


It is with great anticipation that Maxwell Davidson Gallery presents Geometry: Selected Works from the Estate of Mary Ann Unger. Best known for her sculpture, Unger also produced an impressive catalogue of drawings, sketches, and watercolors, which have, for the most part, never left her studio. It is these extraordinary and largely undiscovered works that have been selected for this special exhibition.

From her diagnosis of breast cancer in 1985 until her death at the end of 1998, Mary Ann Unger’s work evolved from repeated, architectural forms to a darker and more biomorphic style. It is this work, which encompasses a large span of her adult career, for which she is best known.

However, Unger’s works on paper that preceded this shift, reveal a wholly different artist—one with precise control and a keen interest in geometry. While these remarkable works convey Unger’s uncanny ability with line, color, and shape, they also provide a newly discovered preface to the sculptural work for which she is best known.

This exhibition at Maxwell Davidson Gallery will be the first for Mary Ann Unger’s work since an exhibition at the McDonough Museum of Art in 2000. Unger’s work has been shown in several major institutions, including the Albright-Knox, Hirschhorn, and Neuberger Museums.