Plimack Mangold’s subjects are her immediate surroundings. Throughout the 1970s, she painted the floors of the homes she inhabited, representing them both in their natural states—occasionally adorned with piles of laundry—or, as in 36 x 36, as cropped units to be measured, as evidenced by the presence of painted rulers. Here, she plays with perspective; the rectangular canvas cannot truly measure thirty-six by thirty-six inches as its title suggests. By choosing to focus on the home where she lived, worked, and raised her children, Mangold also engaged with some of the broader concerns of feminism, which had, since the late 1960s, radically altered the cultural landscape in the United States and abroad.
Gallery label from Studio Visit: Selected Gifts from Agnes Gund, 2018
