Six decades of work, one manuscript as the common thread. That's the setup for Judy Chicago: Revelations at the Jewish Museum, on view through Aug. 23, 2026. The exhibition revolves around an illuminated manuscript Chicago created in the early 1970s, in parallel with her work on The Dinner Party. That manuscript remained unpublished for decades. In 2024, Serpentine and Thames & Hudson re-released it, and now it forms the backbone of this major retrospective. Chicago's first solo in the Netherlands.
At the heart of the exhibition are the works that defined Chicago's career. At the center are preparatory studies for The Dinner Party (1974-1979), the monumental installation work that symbolizes the contributions of 1,038 women to history and is on permanent display at the Brooklyn Museum in New York. Alongside those studies are early abstract and minimalist works, from a period when Chicago was developing its own visual language. Curator Hans Ulrich Obrist of the Serpentine was closely involved in the design of the exhibition, along with co-curator Chris Bayley and assistant curator Liz Stumpf. On the Jewish Museum side, Judith Hoekstra was responsible as curator.
Judy Chicago Revelations
Serpentine North Gallery 2024
The location was not chosen by chance. The Jewish Museum is part of the Jewish Cultural Quarter and, as a place, is inextricably linked to Jewish history. Chicago's Jewish identity is not a footnote in this exhibition, but a point of departure. Her feminism and her background are intertwined, and that combination is given added weight in this museum. The exhibition uses multiple rooms for early works, archival material and impressive video installations of site-specific performances.
Chicago's Jewish identity is not a footnote in this exhibition, but a point of departure. Her feminism and her background are intertwined.
A special feature is the participatory recording booth, where visitors themselves can actively participate in the exhibition. This fits with Chicago's approach: art that is not only viewed, but also asks something of the people in front of it. Admission is twenty euros. Chicago's Jewish identity and feminist vision as interwoven threads through six decades of work, presented in a Jewish cultural institution: it's a combination that not many exhibitions can offer you.
Location
Jewish Museum highlights Jewish culture, religion and history
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