Janet Sobel

Meet Janet Sobel, the Ukrainian-born artist who revolutionized American Abstract Expressionism right from her kitchen table. While many associate "drip painting" with Jackson Pollock, it was actually Sobel who pioneered the technique, influencing some of the biggest names in art history.

Janet’s story is as inspiring as her canvases. She began her artistic journey in 1938 at age 45, while raising five children and enjoying life as a grandmother. By 1939, she had turned her Brighton Beach apartment into a studio, creating the very first examples of "all-over" painting ever seen by influential critics like Clement Greenberg.

Her masterpiece, Milky Way—now a part of MoMA’s permanent collection—was finished in 1945. This was two full years before Pollock even began his own drip experiments. Pollock himself later admitted that Sobel’s work left a lasting impression on him. Despite this, by the time she passed away in 1968, her legacy had been largely overshadowed. For decades, she was often dismissed as a "self-taught housewife" who just happened to drip paint before the famous men of her era.

This exhibition invites you to rediscover Janet Sobel not as a historical footnote, but as a true visionary who proved it’s never too late to change the world of art.