olivia foundation's 'woman in a rowboat' brings renoir, simone leigh, and more to mexico city

Olivia Foundation presents ‘Woman in a Rowboat’ exhibition 

Olivia Foundation presents its current exhibition, Woman in a Rowboat, on view until September 28th, 2025, in Mexico City. The show displays a collection of works from the Olivia Collection that span various genres, subjects, and artistic movements. Taking its name from a painting by Willem de Kooning, the exhibition explores the space and the boundaries between self and world, giving visual form to the interior landscapes of imagination and emotion.

Curated by Diana Nawi, Woman in a Rowboat brings together intergenerational and predominantly women artists whose works navigate memory, emotion, and perception. Pieces from Simone Leigh, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Anselm Kiefer, Tracey Emin, Sarah Lucas, and others serve as entry points into each artist’s inner world, collectively revealing the multiplicity of ways we navigate identity, memory, and perception. The female figure recurs throughout as a reflection of how we see ourselves, with some works capturing the body directly, while others index presence through material and process.

left to right: Anselm Kiefer, Wer jetzt kein Haus hat, baut sich keines mehr, 2021, Joan Snyder, Magic Meadow, 1994, general view of Woman in a Rowboat at the Olivia Foundation, curated by Diana Nawi | all images by Andy Butler, courtesy Olivia Foundation

the show explores the introspective experience of the self

Housed in an early 1900s house reimagined by architects Alberto Kalach and Carlos Zedillo, the Olivia Foundation exhibition space in Roma, Mexico City, showcases artworks from its collection, which includes artworks from post-war abstract art to the modern day. The pieces are unified by their aesthetics and exploration of color, materiality, and form. Woman in a Rowboat forms a chorus of visual vocabularies—spanning surreal, fantastical scenes, quiet depictions of daily life, evocative landscapes, and bold abstractions.

The featured artists include a mix of historical and contemporary voices. Their works unfold a layered dialogue between the material and the ephemeral, the observed and the imagined. With its broad spectrum of artistic approaches, Woman in a Rowboat weaves together different artistic perspectives, revealing how personal and collective experiences take shape through visual expression. The exhibition reflects on the ways art makes the unseen aspects of life visible and felt.

Joan Snyder, Magic Meadow, 1994, Woman in a Rowboat

(Backward) Anna Weyant, Girl in Window, 2024, (Forward) Simone Leigh, Fashion fair, 2023–24

Simone Leigh, Fashion fair, 2023–24

Simone Leigh, Fashion fair, 2023–24

(Background) Martha Jungwirth, Ohne Titel, 2023, (Foreground) Sarah Lucas, Something Celia Said, 2019

Victor Lim Seaward, Objet (Clam with Head), 2023

Olga de Amaral, Glyph Oro, 2004

left to right: Danielle McKinney, We Need to Talk, 2020, Lisa Yuskavage, Posing with Sunflowers, 2023, Apparition, 2023, Landscape Painting, 2019

Left to right: Joan Semmel, Hide and Seek, 2023, Cross-Over, 1979

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Anselm Kiefer, Wer jetzt kein Haus hat, baut sich keines mehr, 2021

Remedios Varo, Visita inesperada (El visitante), 1958

Martha Jungwirth, Ohne Titel, 2023

left to right: Danielle McKinney, We Need to Talk, 2020, Blair Saxon-Hill, Solemn Blooms, 2023, Angela Heisch, Hot Lock, 2020, Luchita Hurtado, Untitled, 1975

Danielle McKinney, We Need to Talk, 2020

Angela Heisch, Hot Lock, 2020

Blair Saxon-Hill, Solemn Blooms, 2023

Luchita Hurtado, Untitled, 1975

Somaya Critchlow, Spectre Figure, 2021

Danielle McKinney, The Companion, 2024

Marley Freeman, Fracture, 2021

Kiki Smith, Quiver, 2018

Willem de Kooning, Woman in a Rowboat, 1965

Kelly Akashi, Time Twine, 2024

Joan Semmel, Hide and Seek, 2023

Etel Adnan, Untitled, 2014

Sarah Lucas, Something Celia Said, 2019

Anna Weyant, Girl in Window, 2024

Gertrude Abercrombie, Cat, 1956

Victoria Gitman, Untitled, 2022

Tracey Emin, Thinking of you again, 2014

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Cagnes, 1911

Lisa Yuskavage, Pond, 2007, Maria Lassnig, Heimliche Liebe / Heimlich Liebe / Couple im Gespräch, 2023

Joan Snyder, Magic Meadow, 1994 (detail)

Tomm El-Saieh, Dezòd, 2023-24

Nicole Eisenmann, Head with Demon, 2018

project info:

name: Woman in a Rowboat 

artists: Angela Heisch | @angelaheisch, Anselm Kiefer | @anselm_kiefer, Anna Weyant | @annaweyant, Blair Saxon-Hill | @blairsaxonhill, Danielle McKinney | @danielle_mckinney_, Joan Snyder | @joan_snyder_art, Kelly Akashi, Kiki Smith, Lisa Yuskavage | @lisayuskavage, Luchita Hurtado, Maria Lassnig | @maria_lassnig_foundation, Martha Jungwirth, Marley Freeman | @bobby_marley_, Nicole Eisenman | @nicoleeisenman, Olga de Amaral | @olgadeamaral, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Remedios Varo, Sarah Lucas, Senga Nengudi, Simone Leigh | @simoneyvetteleigh, Somaya Critchlow | @somayacritchlow, Tomm El-Saieh | @tommelsaieh, Tracey Emin | @traceyeminstudio, Victoria Gitman | @victoriagitman, Victor Lim Seaward | @victor_seaward, Willem de Kooning | @willemdekooningfoundation

curator: Diana Nawi | @nawinawinawi

venue: Olivia Foundation | @oliviafoundation

location: Roma, Mexico City, Mexico

dates: February 5 – September 28, 2025

photographer: Andy Butler | @andybutlernet