For Immediate Release
Contact: Amy Day
Tel: 515.271.0344 (o)
515.612.0775 (c)
aday@desmoinesartcenter.org 

DES MOINES, IOWA (January 2026) – Austrian artist Maria Lassnig (1919-2014) is well known internationally as a painter of unflinching and incisive self-portraits, but this exhibition radically expands our understanding of Lassnig’s practice by foregrounding her work as a pioneering and experimental feminist filmmaker with a mischievous sense of humor. On view February 14 – May 17, 2026, Honey, You’re a Wonderful Model: Maria Lassnig’s Animated Films  represents the artist’s first solo exhibition in the Midwest and the first exhibition in the United States dedicated to her hand-drawn animated films from the 1970s.

The exhibition features an immersive installation composed of more than a dozen suspended screens, a black box theater, and a 16mm  projector. Lassnig’s films will be shown alongside other media created during time she spent in New York in the 1970s, including the materials she used to construct her films, eleven drawings, and Fischbild / Einen Fisch essen (Fish Picture / Eating a Fish), a 1975 painting shown publicly for the first time since it was acquired by a private collection four decades ago.

Honey, You’re a Wonderful Model: Maria Lassnig’s Animated Films engages viewers with Lassnig’s distinctive approach to animation, highlighting a unique part of her practice in which she was not only overtly silly but also used comedy to interrogate the human experience. Lassnig’s animations are populated by a cast of zany characters, frequently including Lassnig herself, who engage in physical comedy and slapstick antics while addressing the complexities of relationships, sexuality, grief, artistic creation, and embodiment.

Lassnig’s willingness to experiment with comedy and animation are a culmination of her arrival in New York, her zealous participation in the American women’s movement, and her immersion in the downtown Manhattan experimental film community. Lassnig dove into an entirely new medium in her 50s, constructing a DIY, unpolished aesthetic that reflected her experience of animation as an art of pleasure and childlike delight. Lassnig’s animations were built on a foundation of looseness, freedom, and play. In these films, the artist transformed elements of her previous work through movement, narration, and, often, song. She compared the process of animation to that of a “Buddhist monk driving a racing car.” She equates herself with the figure of the monk—who, via the act of animation, climbs into a Lamborghini and floors it.

Honey, You’re a Wonderful Model: Maria Lassnig’s Animated Films is curated by Ashton Cooper, Associate Curator. The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue — the first catalogue published by a US-based museum for a solo exhibition of Lassnig’s work. The catalogue includes an extensive scholarly essay on Lassnig’s animated films written by curator Ashton Cooper; an essay by lauded novelist, poet, and essayist Melissa Broder, author of the books The Pisces, Milk Fed, and So Sad Today; a 1969 essay by Nora Ephron; and two texts written by Maria Lassnig in the 1970s. The publication is designed by Los Angeles-based design firm Purtill Family Business and distributed by Walther König.

Support for this exhibition is provided by the Maria Lassnig Foundation and the Harriet S. and J. Locke Macomber Des Moines Art Center Fund.

For more information or to request images from the exhibition, contact Senior Director of Communications and Marketing Amy Day at aday@desmoinesartcenter.org.

Visit desmoinesartcenter.org for additional event details and registration information.

RELATED PROGRAMMING 

Opening Celebration
Friday, February 13 | 5 – 7 pm
Anna K. Meredith Gallery and Macomber Lobby
Free; No registration required

Conversation: “Exploring Maria Lassnig’s New York Years” with artist Hans Werner Poschauko, Lassnig’s long-time assistant, and Associate Curator Ashton Cooper 
Saturday, February 14 | 1:30 pm
Levitt Auditorium
Free; Registration required
This event is part of Social Saturday: Love It or Leave It; 11 am – 2 pm

Gallery Talk with Associate Curator Ashton Cooper 
Thursday, March 12 | 5:30 pm
Anna K. Meredith Gallery
Free; No registration required

Film Screening: Experimental Animation in the Era of Women’s Liberation with introduction by Associate Curator Ashton Cooper
Sunday, March 29 | 1:30 pm
Levitt Auditorium
Free; Registration required

Community Animation Showcase
Saturday, May 9 | 1:30 pm
Seeking entries. Find submission instructions at desmoinesartcenter.org
Levitt Auditorium
Free; Registration required

Free Guided Tours  
Saturdays, February 21, March 21, June 6
1 – 2 pm
Meet in the Harriet S. and J. Locke Macomber Lobby
Free; No registration required

About the Des Moines Art Center  
The Des Moines Art Center is a vibrant, AAM-accredited (American Association of Museums) institution located in the capital city of Iowa that welcomes over 300,000 visitors annually from across the country and around the globe. Its historic campus consists of three buildings designed by major architects of the 20th century—Eliel Saarinen, I. M. Pei, and Richard Meier—incorporated into the natural landscape of Greenwood Park. The Art Center is home to one of the strongest collections of 20th and 21st century art in the region, and it hosts a series of ground-breaking exhibitions and lectures each year featuring artists known regionally, nationally, and internationally. The experimental art for which the Art Center cares is reflected in its creative offerings, including a celebrated education program that prioritizes access and collaboration, an art school with studio classes for all ages, and the John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park, situated on 4.4 acres in downtown Des Moines. The Art Center is committed to the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion, which are incorporated into every facet of its mission and identity.

###