So What
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “So What” now? Collection: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. Not on view at present. Checked September 29, 2026.
Chicago, United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the painting
Judy Ledgerwood paints monumental abstractions that explore both the perceptual effects and the politics of color, luminosity, pattern, and scale. Early on Ledgerwood turned to traditionally “feminine” pastels and decorative forms in order to challenge the stereotypes of gendered approaches to painting: “I wanted to find a way to try to push the notion of what is feminine, and what is powerful in painting,” the artist has explained.
Ledgerwood borrowed this work’s title, So What, from a 1959 “cool period” jazz composition by Miles Davis. Made during winter, the painting features pale colors evocative of the season and at first appears quiet and serene. Yet sustained looking reveals subtle modulations in the blue-green, yellow, and white circles, which recede and advance in complex alternation across the work’s surface.
Art Institute of ChicagoCC BY 4.0
Details
- Accession number
- 1999.225
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Image: Art Institute of Chicago — © the artist or rights holder
