Wright Auction

Born in 1948 in Shreveport, Louisiana, American visual artist Marilyn Minter is known for her provocative compositions that often blur the line between fine art and commercialism. Minter earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Florida in 1970 and later received her Master of Fine Arts from Syracuse University in 1972. Her style is defined by the use of photorealism, especially in paintings and photographs that explore themes of sexuality, glamor, and the female body.

Minter's process involves meticulous shoots with film, avoiding digital manipulation in her photography, while layering enamel on aluminum for her paintings. Her works often reflect a tension between allure and discomfort, mixing high-fashion aesthetics with raw, sometimes gritty, imagery. Gaining traction in the 1980s, Minter nonetheless faced some criticism from feminist circles due to her explicit sexual content. Nevertheless, she continued to push boundaries, questioning societal norms around female sexuality. Her Porn Grid series from 1989, which depicted graphic sexual acts in a comic-like style, challenged the portrayal of women in art and provoked intense debate.

In 2009, Minter's video, Green Pink Caviar, featuring a sensual depiction of tongues and candy, was showcased on billboards in Times Square in New York City and used by Madonna during her Sticky & Sweet Tour. In addition to mainstream exposure, Minter's work has been exhibited widely, including at the Whitney Biennial in New York in 2006, and her critically acclaimed retrospective, Pretty/Dirty, which traveled from 2015 to 2017. Throughout her career, Minter has received numerous accolades, including a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1998, and her work is held in major collections, such as the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim Museum in New York, as well as the Tate Modern in London. Currently, Minter is represented by Salon 94 in New York and teaches at the School of Visual Arts.