Frieze LA: Romany Eveleigh & Bice Lazzari

Richard Saltoun presents a booth dedicated to two pioneering women working in abstraction: Romany EVELEIGH (1934–2020, British-Canadian) and Bice LAZZARI (1900–1981, Italian). This exhibition follows a period of significant global reappraisal for both artists: Eveleigh was recently featured in the 60th Venice Biennale, Foreigners Everywhere (2024), while Lazzari has had several recent museum retrospectives including currently, Bice Lazzari: The Languages of Her Time (The National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome), which follows a 2025 retrospective at Palazzo Citterio, Milan. Their inclusion in these exhibitions cements their legacies as two of the most innovative and rigorous abstract artists of the 20th century.

Known for her uncompromising commitment to minimalism, Eveleigh was championed by critics who aligned her rhythmic, mark-making process with the legacies of Post-Painterly Abstraction. Working largely in solitude between Rome, Paris, and New York, she approached the canvas as a site for contemplative, repetitive gestures. Her distinctive sign-based vocabulary drew from a fascination with the "writing" of daily life-ranging from the layout of newspapers to the inherent rhythm of handwriting. During the 1970s, Eveleigh was a vital part of the feminist avant-garde in Italy, living and working alongside her lifelong partner, the photojournalist Anna Baldazzi. Her work remains a profound exploration of the intersection between language, consciousness, and the painted surface.

Lazzari, often referred to as the "Agnes Martin of Italy," defied the societal constraints of her time to become a visionary force in post-war European art. After relocating from Venice to Rome in 1935, she initially achieved success in the decorative arts, collaborating with architects such as Gio Ponti and Carlo Scarpa. Upon returning to pure abstraction in the 1950s, she moved from the gestural textures of Informel toward a highly refined, minimalist language. Her transition to acrylic paint in 1964 allowed for a groundbreaking exploration of line and space. Influenced by her deep knowledge of music and poetry, Lazzari's late works-often composed of delicate graphite or ink lines-attained a rare structural purity, which she maintained even as her eyesight began to fail.

The academic and historical importance of both artists is reflected in their extensive presence within major public collections. Eveleigh's work is held by the Art Institute of Chicago; Tate, London; and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Lazzari's legacy is similarly preserved in the permanent collections of the Centre Pompidou, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, and the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C. Together, these two artists represent a vital, cross-generational dialogue on the power of the minimalist mark, exploring the essence of structure and the limits of visual language.