Nancy Reddin Kienholz
Encyclopedia
Nancy Reddin Kienholz is an American
mixed media
artist
based in Hope
, Idaho
. She works in installation art
, assemblage
, photography
, and lenticular printing
. She is most famous for her collaborations with her husband and creative partner Edward Kienholz
.
, California
in 1943. Her father, Thomas Reddin
, was born in 1916 in New York City
and worked in Los Angeles as a police officer; he would eventually serve as chief of the Los Angeles Police Department
from 1967 to 1969. Her mother, real estate broker Betty Parsons Reddin, was born in 1921 in Denver, Colorado
. Nancy was the youngest of three children, born after older brothers Thomas T. Reddin (1938 – 1985) and Michael Gray Reddin (b. 1942).
Reddin was first married at age 19. She had one child from this marriage, Christine, in 1964, but the marriage ended after two years. Reddin received no formal training in art, and worked several odd jobs in Los Angeles before beginning her collaborations with Ed Kienholz in 1972.
at a party in Los Angeles in 1972. At that time, Kienholz was already an established artist, being a founding member of the Ferus Gallery
and a long-standing participant in the Los Angeles avant garde scene. He had full custody of two children, Jenny and Noah, from one of his four previous marriages, and would later legally adopt Reddin's daughter Christine.
Reddin and Kienholz began their creative collaborations the same year they met. Their first work together was "The Middle Islands No. 1," now in the collection of the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
in Humlebæk, Denmark
. Ed Kienholz continued to receive sole credit for these collaborations until 1981, when he publicly announced for the first time that all works after 1972 should be retroactively credited instead to "Kienholz," in collective reference to both Ed and Nancy.
In 1973, Kienholz received a grant from DAAD
to work in the Federal Republic of Germany
. The couple sold their house in Los Angeles, and Reddin moved with Kienholz and their children to West Berlin
. The entire family, including the children, contributed to the creation of the exhibit Kienholz created using the grant. Reddin and Kienholz would divide their time between Berlin and their home in the rural Idaho Panhandle
until Kienholz's death in 1994.
During their marriage, Reddin and Kienholz worked prolifically, primarily in installation
. They maintained studios in Berlin and in Hope, Idaho
. Kienholz received a Guggenheim Fellowship
in 1976, and their work was especially critically acclaimed in Europe.
After struggling with diabetes for years, Kienholz died suddenly in 1994 of a massive heart attack in Sandpoint, Idaho
. He was buried in a 1940 Packard
, which Reddin steered into the gravesite.
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
mixed media
Mixed media
Mixed media, in visual art, refers to an artwork in the making of which more than one medium has been employed.There is an important distinction between "mixed-media" artworks and "multimedia art". Mixed media tends to refer to a work of visual art that combines various traditionally distinct...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
based in Hope
Hope, Idaho
Hope is a city in Bonner County, Idaho, United States. The population was 86 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Hope is located at ....
, Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
. She works in installation art
Installation art
Installation art describes an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called Land art; however, the boundaries between...
, assemblage
Assemblage (art)
Assemblage is an artistic process. In the visual arts, it consists of making three-dimensional or two-dimensional artistic compositions by putting together found objects...
, photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
, and lenticular printing
Lenticular printing
Lenticular printing is a technology in which a lenticular lens is used to produce images with an illusion of depth, or the ability to change or move as the image is viewed from different angles...
. She is most famous for her collaborations with her husband and creative partner Edward Kienholz
Edward Kienholz
Edward Kienholz was an American installation artist whose work was highly critical of aspects of modern life. From 1972 onwards, he assembled much of his artwork in close collaboration with his artistic partner and wife, Nancy Reddin Kienholz...
.
Early life
Reddin was born in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in 1943. Her father, Thomas Reddin
Thomas Reddin
Thomas Reddin was a Los Angeles Police Department chief from 1967 to 1969. He left May 6, 1969, to become a news commentator...
, was born in 1916 in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and worked in Los Angeles as a police officer; he would eventually serve as chief of the Los Angeles Police Department
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
from 1967 to 1969. Her mother, real estate broker Betty Parsons Reddin, was born in 1921 in Denver, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. Nancy was the youngest of three children, born after older brothers Thomas T. Reddin (1938 – 1985) and Michael Gray Reddin (b. 1942).
Reddin was first married at age 19. She had one child from this marriage, Christine, in 1964, but the marriage ended after two years. Reddin received no formal training in art, and worked several odd jobs in Los Angeles before beginning her collaborations with Ed Kienholz in 1972.
Marriage and collaboration
Reddin met Ed KienholzEdward Kienholz
Edward Kienholz was an American installation artist whose work was highly critical of aspects of modern life. From 1972 onwards, he assembled much of his artwork in close collaboration with his artistic partner and wife, Nancy Reddin Kienholz...
at a party in Los Angeles in 1972. At that time, Kienholz was already an established artist, being a founding member of the Ferus Gallery
Ferus Gallery
The Ferus Gallery was a contemporary art gallery operating from 1957-1966. In 1957 it was located at 736-A North La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles, California...
and a long-standing participant in the Los Angeles avant garde scene. He had full custody of two children, Jenny and Noah, from one of his four previous marriages, and would later legally adopt Reddin's daughter Christine.
Reddin and Kienholz began their creative collaborations the same year they met. Their first work together was "The Middle Islands No. 1," now in the collection of the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art is an art museum located directly on the shore of the Øresund Sound in Humlebæk, north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the most visited art museum in Denmark with an extensive permanent collection of modern and contemporary art, dating from World War II and up...
in Humlebæk, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. Ed Kienholz continued to receive sole credit for these collaborations until 1981, when he publicly announced for the first time that all works after 1972 should be retroactively credited instead to "Kienholz," in collective reference to both Ed and Nancy.
In 1973, Kienholz received a grant from DAAD
German Academic Exchange Service
The German Academic Exchange Service or DAAD is the largest German support organisation in the field of international academic co-operation....
to work in the Federal Republic of Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
. The couple sold their house in Los Angeles, and Reddin moved with Kienholz and their children to West Berlin
West Berlin
West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...
. The entire family, including the children, contributed to the creation of the exhibit Kienholz created using the grant. Reddin and Kienholz would divide their time between Berlin and their home in the rural Idaho Panhandle
Idaho Panhandle
The Idaho Panhandle is the northern region of the U.S. State of Idaho that encompasses the ten northernmost counties of Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Clearwater, Idaho, Kootenai, Latah, Lewis, Nez Perce, Shoshone. Residents of the panhandle refer to the region as North Idaho...
until Kienholz's death in 1994.
During their marriage, Reddin and Kienholz worked prolifically, primarily in installation
Installation art
Installation art describes an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called Land art; however, the boundaries between...
. They maintained studios in Berlin and in Hope, Idaho
Hope, Idaho
Hope is a city in Bonner County, Idaho, United States. The population was 86 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Hope is located at ....
. Kienholz received a Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
in 1976, and their work was especially critically acclaimed in Europe.
After struggling with diabetes for years, Kienholz died suddenly in 1994 of a massive heart attack in Sandpoint, Idaho
Sandpoint, Idaho
Sandpoint is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Bonner County, Idaho, United States. Its population was 7,365 at the 2010 census.Sandpoint's major economic contributors include forest products and light manufacturing, tourism and recreation and government services...
. He was buried in a 1940 Packard
Packard
Packard was an American luxury-type automobile marque built by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, and later by the Studebaker-Packard Corporation of South Bend, Indiana...
, which Reddin steered into the gravesite.
Recent work
In addition to maintaining Kienholz's estate, Reddin has continued to work in multiple media since 1994. In addition to continuing her work in assemblage sculpture, Reddin has returned to an early interest in photography and has created several works using lenticular imagesLenticular printing
Lenticular printing is a technology in which a lenticular lens is used to produce images with an illusion of depth, or the ability to change or move as the image is viewed from different angles...
.
External links
– LA Louver- Solo and Group Exhibitions 1961-2010. LA Louver
- Nancy Reddin Kienholz, Lenticular Graphics
- Kienholz. The Signs of the Times. Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt Video: Kienholz Exhibition Frankfurt, Germany, October 22, 2011. - January 29, 2012.