Joyce Pensato

Bold, chaotic and deeply psychological, the paintings of Joyce Pensato return to center stage in this expansive survey of her five-decade career. On view December 2 through March 15 at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, Joyce Pensato features approximately 65 works spanning the 1970s to 2019, offering the most comprehensive museum exhibition of the artist's work to date.

Known for her explosive black-and-white enamel paintings of cartoon characters like Batman, Mickey Mouse and South Park’s Stan, Pensato fused the intensity of gestural abstraction with the visual language of pop culture. This exhibition traces the evolution of her recurring figures and explores how she transformed mass media icons into haunting, layered images that speak to the anxieties and cultural shifts of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

Highlights include a focused selection of Mickey Mouse portraits, an installation of her disembodied “Eyes” series and a significant grouping of early enamel works. The show also emphasizes Pensato’s broader practice, incorporating rarely seen drawings, photographs and installations that reveal her deep engagement with material and process.

Organized by ICA Miami and curated by Alex Gartenfeld, Gean Moreno and Stephanie Seidel, the exhibition is accompanied by a scholarly catalogue that situates her work within the context of postwar abstraction and its legacies.