P&T Knitwear is pleased to welcome Lex Lancaster and Sarah Louise Cowan for a discussion on the politics of abstraction in contemporary art, and to celebrate the releases of their latest books: Dragging Away: Queer Abstraction in Contemporary Art (Duke University Press), and Howardena Pindell: Reclaiming Abstraction (Yale University Press). After the discussion — which will include a slideshow of accompanying artwork and an audience Q&A — Lex and Sarah will sign copies of their books.

Reserve your signed editions of “Dragging Away: Queer Abstraction in Contemporary Art” and Howardena Pindell: Reclaiming Abstraction

Available to ship in most places!

In Dragging Away, Lex Morgan Lancaster traces the formal and material innovations of contemporary queer and feminist artists, showing how they use abstraction as a queering tactic for social and political ends. Through a process Lancaster theorizes as a drag—dragging past aesthetics into the present and reworking them while pulling their work away from direct representation—these artists reimagine midcentury forms of abstraction and expose the violence of the tendency to reduce abstract form to a bodily sign or biographical symbolism.

Howardena Pindell: Reclaiming Abstraction is a fascinating examination of the multifaceted career of artist, activist, curator, and writer Howardena Pindell (b. 1943). It offers a fresh perspective on her abstract practice from the late 1960s through the early 1980s—a period in which debates about Black Power, feminism, and modernist abstraction intersected in uniquely contentious yet generative ways.

• This is a free in-store event with limited amphitheater-style seating
• We encourage all guests to wear masks.
• The talk will be followed by a book signing. Books signed at P&T Knitwear events must be purchased from P&T Knitwear. If you would like a signed copy and cannot attend the event, we’re happy to take your pre-order. We ship to most places!

About the authors

Lex Morgan Lancaster (they/them) is a scholar, professor, and curator who focuses on queer, feminist, trans, and anti-racist visual and theoretical contributions to the field of contemporary art. Their book—Dragging Away: Queer Abstraction in Contemporary Art — forges a queer formalist and materialist approach to contemporary abstraction. They are working on a second book focusing on trans and nonbinary approaches to abstraction. Lancaster is Assistant Professor of Art History and Gallery Director at the University of South Carolina-Upstate. They received their PhD in art history and visual culture studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2017.

Sarah Louise Cowan’s research focuses on modern and contemporary art of the Americas with a particular focus on the intersection of art and activism. Her book, Howardena Pindell: Reclaiming Abstraction (Yale University Press, 2022) is the first book-length scholarly publication about any aspects of the multifaceted career of artist, activist, curator and writer Howardena Pindell (b. 1943). Cowan’s other research interests include artistic notions of labor and laziness. She is launching a second book project about landscape interventions and memorialization. Cowan is an assistant professor of art history at DePauw University.

Time: 7:00 PM — 8:00 PM EST

Free!

Registration