Throughout a career spanning six decades, Nina Yankowitz (American, b. 1946) has created a multidisciplinary practice that defies singular definition. Her work pushes against traditional boundaries: her paintings have resisted not just frames, but seemingly gravity; her abstract compositions have gone beyond the canvas to embrace the aural. Most recently, Yankowitz has deepened her interest in technology and new media to create immersive environments that spotlight women-centered histories that have gone unknown for far too long.
Despite the stark individuality of Yankowitz’s practice, she has long understood the importance of collective action and was a founding member of the feminist Heresies Collective (1976-1993). Elements of social justice underpin Yankowitz’s work, as does humor and a fearless approach to medium. This exhibition serves as a course correction, ensuring that the work of Nina Yankowitz, a truly boundary-defying artist, is honored with a career retrospective within her lifetime.
Yankowitz uses the phrase In the Out/Out the In to describe her goals of making her art as accessible as possible—bringing the so-called “outside” “in.” However, it also suggests the sense of imbalance generated by the artist’s work. Her Cantilever series, for example, suggests paintings crashing through walls, causing disorientation that can be almost visceral. An audio work from 1974 titled Lips Knees Neck Elbows Chest Rear urges visitors to engage with their bodies. The exhibition will include early draped, shirred, and pleated paintings, as well as the Dilated Grain Readings series and her later “scanning” works, which function almost as musical scores. It will also include Yankowitz’s experimental ceramics, such as Hell’s Breath (1981), and a multimedia collaboration that is currently in progress.
Nina Yankowitz was born and raised in New Jersey and lives between New York City and Sag Harbor. Her works are in public collections, including the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA; Virginia Museum of History & Culture, Richmond, VA; and the Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, MA. Her archival materials are found in the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Her 2022 solo exhibition at Eric Firestone Gallery garnered reviews in Artforum and Art in America, and in 2024 she was inducted into the New York Foundation for the Arts’ Hall of Fame.
Nina Yankowitz: In the Out/Out the In will travel to the Parrish Art Museum in October 2025.
Access the full Press Release for Nina Yankowitz | In the Out/Out the In
Related Programs
June
Friday, June 20 at 12:00 p.m. – MFA Teens at Black Crow Coffee Co.
Saturday, June 21 at 2:00 p.m. – Artist Meet-and-Greet + Catalogue & CD Signing with Nina Yankowitz and The Honourable Elizabeth A. Baker
July
Saturday, July 5 at 10:00 a.m. – Sensory Saturday | Hands-On with Curious Creations Co.
Wednesday, July 9 at 10:00 a.m.– Homeschool Hours at the MFA feat. Nina Yankowitz | In the Out/Out the In
Thursday, July 10 at 7:00 p.m.– Sound In Your Eyes | Listening Session at the MFA with The Honourable Elizabeth A. Baker
Wednesday, July 16 at 10:00 a.m. – Museum Minis with Tombolo Books
Friday, July 25 at 6:00 p.m. –the ins and outs | Vol. 1 with Sapphic Sun
August
Tuesday, August 5 at 11:00 a.m. – Spotlight Series | In the Out/Out the In
Friday, August 8 at 6:00 p.m. – MFA Teen Night
Saturday, August 23 at 10:00 a.m. – Hand-building Clay with St. Pete Ceramics at the MFA
Friday, August 29 at 6:00 p.m. – the ins and outs | Vol. 2 with Art2Action
September
Friday, September 12 at 6:00 p.m. – the ins and outs | Vol. 3 with The Honourable Elizabeth A. Baker
Friday, September 19 at 6:00 p.m. – After Hours (21+): Nina Yankowitz | In the Out/Out the In
Sunday, September 21 at 1:00 p.m. – In Conversation | Nina Yankowitz and Katherine Pill
Programs subject to change. Check our Calendar Events for the most up-to-date schedule.
NINA YANKOWITZ: IN THE OUT/OUT THE IN SPONSORS
SPONSORED BY: THE GOBIOFF FOUNDATION AND MARION RICH
MEDIA PARTNER: WUSF: YOUR HOME FOR NPR / WSMR CLASSICAL
FUNDED IN PART BY THE CITY OF ST. PETERSBURG
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Image:
Nina Yankowitz, Ms. Majesty, 1970-71, Acrylic compressor spray on canvas run through pleating machine. Courtesy of the Artist and Eric Firestone Gallery, New York, NY.