Bettina Grossman (September 28, 1927 – November 2, 2021) was an American conceptual artist, best known for her longtime residency at the Hotel Chelsea in Manhattan and her eccentric persona.[1]

Biography

Grossman was born in Brooklyn, to Saul and Pauline Grossman on 28 September 1927. She had three siblings. The family lived in Borough Park and observed Orthodox Judaism.[2]

Grossman studied commercial art in high school and worked as a textile designer, making enough money to move to Europe and pursue art during the 1950s and 1960s.[2] After struggling to make ends meet overseas, she moved back to New York City and settled into Manhattan's historic Hotel Chelsea, a haven for artists, musicians, and cultural icons. She lived in room 503, which doubled as her living quarters and art studio.[3] Her apartment became overloaded with years of accumulated art and materials, so she resorted to sleeping in a lawn chair in the hallway.[2]

Despite her decades long career, Grossman finally began to experience notoriety for her work during her later years. She was the subject of a 2012 documentary film, Girl With Black Balloons, directed by Corinne van der Borch.[4]

Grossman died from respiratory failure on 2 November 2021 at the age of 94 at a care centre in Brooklyn.[2]

Artwork

Grossman’s oeuvre consists of drawings, sculpture, and photographs. A studio fire in the late 1960s destroyed much of her work, and prompted a shift in aesthetic style and ideology.[5] An example includes the photographic series Phenomenology Project (1979–80), featuring distorted views of New York City seen from window reflections.[1] Yto Barrada, a Moroccan-French artist who exhibited with Grossman, is working on a catalogue raisonné of her work.[6]

Exhibitions

In 2019, Barrada and Grossman collaborated on a project that explored concepts of ecological devastation. The exhibition, titled The Power of Two Suns, was on view at the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s Arts Center at Governors Island.[7] Prior to her death, Grossman was one of 47 contemporary artists featured in the 2021 iteration of Greater New York, MoMA PS.1’s annual survey of New York-based artists. At the age of 94, she was the oldest artist in the exhibition.[8]

Grossman's work was shown at Manhattan's Ulrik Gallery in 2024.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 Greenberger, Alex (2021-11-03). "Bettina Grossman, Reclusive Maker of Mysterious Art with Growing Following, Has Died". ARTnews.com. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Kilgannon, Corey (2021-11-13). "Bettina Grossman, an Artistic Fixture at the Chelsea Hotel, Dies at 94". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  3. ↑ Kilgannon, Corey (2011-11-04). "First, No More Guests; Now, Chelsea Hotel Says No More Art". City Room. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  4. ↑ "Movie review: 'Girl With Black Balloons' a portrait of artist seeking order". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  5. ↑ Gallun, Lucy; Barrada, Yto (2022-02-22). "Remembering the World of Bettina, Resident Artist of the Chelsea Hotel". MoMA Magazine. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  6. ↑ Landes, Jennifer (May 20, 2021). "Yto Barrada's Nonessential Storytelling". The East Hampton Star. Archived from the original on 2021-11-16. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  7. ↑ Garg, Sukanya (November 30, 2019). "Yto Barrada and Bettina explored responses to disaster for exhibition in New York". Stir World. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  8. ↑ Kinsella, Eileen (2021-10-05). "'Greater New York,' MoMA PS1's Closely Watched Survey, Returns to Excavate New York's Past and Reckon With Its Surreal Present". Artnet News. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  9. ↑ "Bettina "New York: 1965–1986" at Ulrik, New York — Mousse Magazine and Publishing". www.moussemagazine.it. 2023-12-14. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
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