Judy Takács

Judy Takács
Judy Takács in her studio
Born1962 (age 62–63).
New York City, New York
NationalityAmerican
EducationBachelor of Fine Arts
Alma materCleveland Institute of Art
Known forRealism
MovementPost-Contemporary Art
SpouseScott Pendergast
Websitehttps://judytakacs.com/

Judy Takács (born 1962, New York) is a contemporary figurative painter, known for her realistic paintings from her ongoing, traveling portrait series, Chicks with Balls: Judy Takács paints unsung female heroes.[1][2] “Takács is a figurative artist who tells stories about people who have something uplifting to share.”[3] She is an elected member of, and past Social Media Chair for Allied Artists of America. She is past Social Media Chair and Literature Committee writer for the Cecilia Beaux Forum of the Portrait Society of America. In 2018, Takács was elected to membership in the Salmagundi Art Club and the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club in New York City. She holds Signature Status with Portrait Society of America, American Women Artists and Akron Society of Artists. She lives and works in Solon, Ohio.

Biography

Takács received her BFA in Illustration and Portrait Painting from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 1986.[4] Takács has staged serial projects painting senior citizens and elderly nuns from life. These projects have yielded over fifty paintings, three solo shows,[5][6][7] a feature in Anthropology & Aging Quarterly[8] and placements in juried and invitational shows. In 2014 she published a book of these collected portraits of the elderly called, The Age of Adventure.[9]

Takács' work has been recognized by the Portrait Society of America,[10][11][12] the Art Renewal Center,[13][14] the National Arts Club, Cincinnati Arts Club, Allied Artists of America, Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Club, and the Salmagundi Club, NYC. She has participated in Women Painting Women Exhibitions along with Rachel Constantine, Alia El-Bermani, Diane Fiesel and Sadie Valeri, and multiple Poets/Artists publications and live exhibitions. Takács' work is archived at the Artists Archives of the Western Reserve.[15] Her work has been exhibited at the Butler Institute of American Art,[16] the Brookgreen Gardens Zanesville Museum of Art, Evansville Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, Haggin Museum, Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art and ARTneo. Takács' work is included in the permanent collections of Susquehanna University and ARTneo.

In 2009 she began both painting and blogging her project; Chicks with Balls: Judy Takács paints unsung female heroes.[17] For this series, she asked her female friends and family to pose topless, holding balls to symbolize their personal challenges. In 2013, Takács authored and published, Chicks with Balls: Judy Takács paints unsung female heroes.[18] and received an Ohio Arts Council Grant for Individual Artistic Excellence in 2013, 2019 for the series[19] which became a traveling exhibition[20][21][22] that culminated in her first solo museum show at the Zanesville Museum of Art in February 2020.[23]

In 2014, Takács curated Majority Rising for the Artists Archives of the Western Reserve during Women's History Month.[24] Choosing work from Cleveland figurative artists, Shirley Aley Campbell, Kathleen McKenna, Marilyn Szalay, Lee Heinen and Marsha Sweet. Takács painted and exhibited a portrait of each artist as well.

In 2015 Takács had her two-artist inaugural exhibition with Marilyn Szalay at the Artists Archives of the Western Reserve. Takács and Szalay were referred to as “two titans of figurative art”[25] in Cleveland Scene Magazine. The exhibition showed 12 works from each artist and was entitled, "Szalay…Takács…Secrets." The theme for the works included, dealt with the concept of hidden meanings in art, some of which go to the grave with the artist.

In 2016 Takács was one of the nine artists, including Stephanie Deshpande, Lauren Tilden, Mario Robinson, and Terry Strickland, who participated in the Emanuel Nine Portrait Project at Principle Gallery, honoring the victims of the Charleston church shooting.[26] She painted a portrait of Rev. Dr. Daniel Simmons Sr.

In 2018, Takács begain painting works for her Goddess Project series, re-imagining the mythology of all the religions through a contemporary feminist lens. The Goddess Project has exhibited two solo shows, The Goddess Project: Innocents, in conjunction with the Ohio Innocence Project at Chagrin Arts in March 2022 and The Goddess Project: Warriors at the Ashtabula Arts Center in July 2023. Works from the project were awarded an Ohio Arts Council Grant for Individual Artistic Excellence in 2023.[27] Takacs published, The Goddess Project: Paintings and Stories by Judy Takács[28] in 2022.

A few years before Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court of the United States, on June 24, 2022, Takács was creating and showing Pro-Choice paintings. She won Best in Show awards for MASALA (Make Abortion Safe and Legal Again) at the Akron Society of Artists Juried Exhibition in 2022 and one for BANS Off at the Summit Artspace Kaleidoscope Exhibition in October 2023. Takács' activism included writing Opinion Editorial articles[29][30][31] and Letters to the Editor[32][33] of The Cleveland Plain Dealer. Leading up to Election Day in Ohio, when the Ohio Reproductive Rights Amendment was on the ballot, Chagrin Arts hosted a show of Takács' Pro Choice works, Mothers, Women, Children, Choices.[34] Ultimately her efforts were successful and the Ohio Reproductive Rights Amendment passed, securing abortion rights in the Ohio Constitution. In March, 2024 Takács wrote a book chronicling this statewide effort against the backdrop of her art and activism, My Weapon of Choice: Judy Takács Paints Reproductive Rights.[35]

Takács' father is Queueing theory pioneer, Lajos Takács and her mother, is the author Dalma Takács.[36][37]

Art

Cancer Honeymoon

Takács' painting, Cancer Honeymoon depicts Takács’ mother, Dalma Takács during the early stages of ovarian cancer.[38] She continues this theme with her paintings, Guardian Angel of the Good Death and Serenity Prayer[39] and the Ephemera Collector Series.[40]

#Me(dusa)too, oil on canvas, Judy Takács
Arachne, Predator and Prey, Judy Takács, oil on canvas, 2018

#Me(dusa)too,[41] oil on canvas, 2018. From The Goddess Project; before she was a hideous, snake-headed gorgon, Medusa was a beautiful young rape victim. Goddess Athena turned her into the monster whose glance turns men to stone for the crime of being raped by God Poseidon in Athena's temple.

Arachne, Predator and Prey,[42] oil on canvas, 2018. From The Goddess Project, another victim of Athena's wrath, Arachne was a superior weaver who bested the Goddess in a weaving competition; for which she was turned into a spider.

The Pledge, oil on canvas with collage, 2023. A Pro Choice painting from a larger series created by Judy Takács in response to the Supreme Court of the United States overturning Roe v. Wade, June 24, 2022.

Bibliography

  • My Weapon of Choice: Judy Takács paints Reproductive Rights, April 2024, blurb.com[35]
  • The Goddess Project: Paintings and Stories by Judy Takács, March 2022, blurb.com[28]
  • Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, March 2021, Issue 32, Judy Takács and Shana Levenson: Artist to Artist, Armidale, Australia[43]
  • The Artists Magazine, September 2018, A Happy Medium: Judy Takács, Grand Prize Winner in the All Media Art Competition, F-W Media, Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio[44]
  • Poets/Artists Sight Unseen, February 2016, Didi Menendez, with curator Alia El-Bermani, Poets/Artists, Chicago, Illinois[45]
  • The Archives Speak, November 2014, Rota Sackerlotzky and Roger Welchans, The Artists Archives of the Western Reserve, Cleveland, Ohio[46]
  • Age of Adventure: Judy Takács paints the retired and inspired, August 2014, Judy Takács, blurb.com, Cleveland, Ohio[9]
  • Women Painting Women, September 2014. Matter Deep Publishing, Principle Gallery, South Carolina[47]
  • Art Renewal Center International Salon Catalog 2013/14. August 2014[14]
  • Present Tense: Contemporary Art in Ohio, Artists of Rubber CIty. November 2014.[48][49]
  • Manifest Gallery International Painting Annual 3. January 2014. Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio[50][51]
  • Chicks with Balls: Judy Takács paints unsung female heroes, August 2013, blurb.com[1]
  • Solon Senior Project: Judy Takács paints fascinating wisdom, November 2012, blurb.com[52]
The Pledge, Judy Takács, oil on canvas with collage, 2023

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Chicks with Balls: Judy Takács paints unsung female heroes". Blurb (Page with description of self-published book by Takács.). Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  2. ^ Takács, Judy (31 January 2016). "Judy Takács' Solo Show, Chicks with Balls October 2015". YouTube (Video showing walkthrough of exhibit.). Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  3. ^ Dellosso, Gabriella (10 October 2015). "The Successful Spark of Artist Judy Takács". Sankofa Review. Archived from the original on 4 April 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  4. ^ "Eight Cleveland Institute of Art graduates receive Individual Excellence Awards from the Ohio Arts Council". Cleveland Institute of Art. 23 April 2013. Archived from the original on 20 September 2013. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  5. ^ Rusek, Joan (15 November 2012). "Judy Takacs' Solon Senior Project art show opens Friday at the Solon Center for the Arts". Cleveland.com. Archived from the original on 22 February 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  6. ^ "Judy Takacs paints the retired and inspired". Curatorial Collective. 30 August 2014. Archived from the original on 22 June 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  7. ^ "NUN: Judy Takacs Paints Retired Sisters of Notre Dame". Sisters of Notre Dame, Chardon Province. 28 February 2014. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  8. ^ Danely, Jason (September 2013). "Portfolio - Fascinating Wisdom: 'The Solon Senior Project'". Anthropology & Aging Quarterly. 34 (3): 135–140. doi:10.5195/aa.2013.14. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 29 January 2016 – via The Association for Anthropology, Gerontology and the Life Course.
  9. ^ a b Takács, Judy (2014). Age of Adventure: Judy Takács paints the retired and inspired (Digital representation of part of book allowing page through). Blurb. Archived from the original on 22 February 2023. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  10. ^ "2014 Members Only Competition Winners - 2014 Non-Commissioned Additional Awards". Portrait Society of America. 2014. Archived from the original on 10 November 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  11. ^ "MOC 2016 Winners - 2016 Non-Commissioned Finalists/2016 Outside the Box Finalists". Portrait Society of America. 2016. Archived from the original on 28 January 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  12. ^ "Signature Status - Signature Status Recipients". Portrait Society of America. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  13. ^ "9th ARC Salon - Right And Better Left Unsaid by Judy Takacs - Finalist/Figurative". Art Renewal Center. 2012. Archived from the original on 22 February 2023. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  14. ^ a b "Art Renewal Center 2013/14 International Salon". artrenewal.org. Art Renewal Center.
  15. ^ "Judy Takács - Biography". Artists Archives of the Western Reserve. 2013. Archived from the original on 15 August 2022. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  16. ^ Litt, Steven (23 July 2013). "Northeast Ohio artists shine in the 77th Midyear exhibition at the Butler Institute of American Art". Cleveland.com. Archived from the original on 23 February 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  17. ^ "Chicks with Balls by Judy Takács: Egg". chickswithballsjudytakacs.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2016-01-29.
  18. ^ Carducci, Judith (October 2013). "Judy Takács' Chicks with Balls Project, An Artist Paints Her Way around Closed Doors". The Art of the Portrait. Portrait Society of America.
  19. ^ "CIA Artists Honored: Cultural Contributors: CIS Artists Win Regional, State Arts Awards" (PDF). CIA Link. 12 (3): 3. Fall 2013. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 September 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  20. ^ Litt, Steven (5 August 2013). "Why a BAYarts exhibition opening Friday has a title that can't be used in this headline". Cleveland.com. Archived from the original on 13 November 2022. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  21. ^ Stanich, Samantha (18 June 2015). "LCCC shows Exhibit 'Chicks with Balls'". Times Leader. Archived from the original on 19 October 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  22. ^ Litt, Steven (29 October 2015). "Encore show of "Chicks with Balls" by Judy Takacs opens at Tri-C East (photos)". Cleveland.com. Archived from the original on 14 November 2022. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  23. ^ "Chicks with Balls: Judy Takács paints unsung female heroes". zanesvilleart.org. February 6, 2020.
  24. ^ Usmani, Josh (10 March 2015). "Celebrating Women's History Month at the Artists Archives of the Western Reserve". Cleveland Scene. Archived from the original on 21 June 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  25. ^ Von Schneider, Dott (13 June 2018). "Marilyn Szalay and Judy Takács reveal 'Secrets' at the Artists Archives of the Western Reserve". Cleveland Scene Magazine. Archived from the original on 29 June 2022. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  26. ^ Cruz, Rafael (28 May 2016). "Charleston portrait project pays tribute to Emanuel 9". WCBD. Archived from the original on 23 February 2023. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  27. ^ Paa, Andrew (February 7, 2023). "75 Ohio Artists Receive Individual Excellence Awards Across Seven Disciplines". oac.ohio.gov.
  28. ^ a b Takács, Judy (January 27, 2022). "The Goddess Project: Paintings and Stories by Judy Takács". blurb.com.
  29. ^ Takács, Judy (June 10, 2022). "Your Body, Your Decision". The Cleveland Plain Dealer.
  30. ^ Takács, Judy. "If you're pro-life you might also want to sign the reproductive rights petition". The Cleveland Plain Dealer.
  31. ^ Judy, Takács (October 18, 2023). "Abortion shibboleths, concerns while gathering Issue 1 signatures". The Cleveland Plain Dealer.
  32. ^ Takacs, Judy (October 26, 2022). "Forced by the state to bear a child, not old enough to vote". The Cleveland Plain Dealer.
  33. ^ Takacs, Judy (January 24, 2024). "Ohio Senate just voted to take away parental rights via veto override on HB 68". The Cleveland Plain Dealer.
  34. ^ Takacs, Judy (September 2023). "Mothers, Women, Children, Choices: Judy Takács at Chagrin Arts". Collective Arts Network Journal (12(3)2023).
  35. ^ a b Takács, Judy (March 5, 2024). My Weapon of Choice: Judy Takács paints Reproductive Rights. blurb.com.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  36. ^ Takacs and Veress, Dalma and Laura-Louise (1995). Clear the Line. Cleveland, Ohio: Prospero. ISBN 1-57087-207-4.
  37. ^ Takács, Dalma (2013). Refugee from Paradise. Cleveland, Ohio: Prospero. ISBN 978-1-4797-9295-5.
  38. ^ Takacs, Judy (2013-11-10). "Chicks with Balls by Judy Takács: Taking my eyes off the ball". Chicks with Balls by Judy Takács. Retrieved 2016-01-29.
  39. ^ Clark, Joseph (24 May 2017). "Big Show, Bit Ideas: The Eighth Annual May Show at Lakeland Community College". Collective Arts Network Journal. Archived from the original on 9 December 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  40. ^ Takács, Judy (June 13, 2017). "Ephemera". chickswithballsjudytakacs.blogspot.com.
  41. ^ Takács, Judy (September 13, 2018). "#Me(dusa)too". Chicks with Balls Judy Takács.
  42. ^ Takács, Judy (April 29, 2019). "Arachne, The Spider and the Queen Bee". Chicks with Balls Judy Takács.
  43. ^ Fedoruk, Natalia (March 2021). "Judy Takacs and Shana Levenson, Artist to Artist". Beautiful Bizarre Magazine (32): 22–31.
  44. ^ "A Happy Medium: Judy Takács Grand Prize Winner in All Media Competition". Artists Magazine: 90–91. September 2018.
  45. ^ El-Bermani, Alia (2016-12-26). "Sight Unseen". magcloud.com.
  46. ^ Sackerlotzky, Rota and, Welchans, Roger (2013). The Archives Speak. Artists Archives of the Western Reserve.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  47. ^ "Women Painting Women, Fifth Anniversary & International Juried Show". www.matterdeeppublishing.com. Matter Deep Publishing. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  48. ^ Collective, Curatorial. "PRESENT TENSE art book release". Curatorial Collective. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  49. ^ "Present Tense: Contemporary Art in Ohio from Artists of Rubber City". Storenvy.com. Artists of Rubber City. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  50. ^ Manifest Gallery International Painting Annual 3. Cincinnati, Ohio: Manifest Gallery. 2014.
  51. ^ "Manifest International Painting Annual 3 Exhibition-in-Print". Manifest. Archived from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  52. ^ Takacs, Judy. "The Solon Senior Project: Judy Takács Paints Fascinating Wisdom". Blurb.com. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
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