Marilyn Minter  (American, 1948) 

Painter and photographer Marilyn Minter (American, b.1948) is best known for her hyperrealistic paintings and richly-colored photographs, which feature close-up views the human body in examinations of what constitutes “glamour” and “beauty.” Minter was born in Louisiana and studied art at the University of Florida and at Syracuse University. Her earliest work includes a series of black-and-white photographs she took of her mother, documenting the constant making and remaking of her mother’s appearance while bedridden and suffering from drug addiction. Minter’s later works examine the grotesque and the beautiful sides of fashion and glamour, often in uncomfortably close-up images of androgynous bodies covered in glitter, beads, or pearls. Many of her paintings derive from combinations of views she creates through her photographs. She has received both positive and negative critical attention for her works, particularly those with a more pornographic edge. Her recent work has included short films, as well as a series of photographs of Pamela Anderson. She has exhibited work at the Whitney Biennial, Art Basel, and at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, among other venues. Minter currently lives and works in New York.