More than 50 years after its debut, Santa Clara University’s de Saisset Museum is revisiting its 1973 exhibition, “The Four,” featuring works by artists Judy Chicago, Lynda Benglis, Miriam Schapiro and Bonnie Sherk.

The exhibition opened Sept. 22 and will run through Dec. 11, 2026.

“The Four (Revisited)” is the first installment of the museum’s de Saisset Exhibition Histories series, which revisits projects originally presented at the museum during the early 1970s under former director Lydia Modi-Vitale.

On Sept. 30, the museum hosted a panel discussion featuring Maddy Henkin, the director of research at Eric Firestone Gallery, Kathryn Wade, the senior director of artist relations at Jessica Silverman Gallery, and independent curator and writer Tanya Zimbardo. Andrea Pappas, a professor in Santa Clara University’s Art and Art History Department, moderated the discussion.

The panelists discussed each artist’s contributions to feminist art and how their work reflected the artistic and social movements of the 1970s.

Revisiting “The Four”

The exhibition features four artists whose work explores themes of feminism, sexuality, social practices and ecology. The original exhibition debuted during the 1970s, as second-wave feminism gained momentum.

Chicago, Benglis, Schapiro and Sherk explored these subjects through different artistic mediums and techniques.

In the 1973 The Four exhibition, Chicago displayed paintings from her “Pasadena Lifesavers, Fresno Fans and Flesh Garden” series, using techniques she learned from auto-body classes. Benglis experimented with sound and video editing in her work “Noise,” while Schapiro used computer technology to transform hand-drawn landscapes into geometric abstractions. Sherk incorporated animals, plants, sculpture and performance into an interactive installation.

Santa Clara University professor Andrea Pappas, de Saisset senior manager of exhibitions and operations Chris Sicat, and collections manager Summer Olsen discussed the artists’ approaches and broader artistic movements of the time.

“Both Miriam Schapiro and Judy Chicago used male-dominated mediums in order in a new way to express feminist ideas. Bonnie Sherk wanted another idea of living with the animal kingdom and the environment. Linda Benglis was really playing with the idea of listening to balance also in a male-dominated medium,” said Olsen.

Pappas emphasized the historical context of the artists’ work, particularly regarding the experimentation occurring throughout the 1960s and 1970s.

“You certainly see it in the imagery, but later gets really dismissed into a centralist. But I think one of the things that is very important is the context of the 1960s and 1970s when there’s a lot of emphasis on, not just experimentation, but on the physical process of perception,” said Pappas.

Sicat described his reaction to the artists’ work.

“I think they are empowering. You see artists being able to express themselves, and especially expressing themselves when they’re willing to take that challenge. And they weren’t holding back,” said Sicat.

The Lasting Impact of Feminist Art

More than five decades after the original exhibition, panelists and staff discussed the continued relevance of the artists’ work.

“This show is more than 50 years old, but I think it’s easy to forget how much we owe to these women. I think it is important to think about our history and how we got there,” said Pappas.

The feminist art movement of the 1970s addressed issues including gender representation and artistic recognition. The movement also encouraged artists to incorporate personal experiences and traditionally overlooked subjects into their work.

Olsen noted that several issues addressed during this period remain subjects of discussion today.

“A lot of these issues covered in this wave of this movement, they’re still relevant today,” said Olsen.

Museum staff also discussed what Santa Clara University students could learn from the artists featured in the exhibition—Pappas encouraged students to follow the artists’ examples of persistence.

“It is actually possible. And part of that is having to do it, following their example in the sense of not taking no for an answer,” said Pappas.

Olsen noted the exhibition’s significant connection to Santa Clara University’s history.

“Seeing that women did that here in the ‘70s, that women can continue to do that here,” said Olsen.

“The Four (Revisited)” is on display at the de Saisset Museum through Dec. 11, offering visitors an opportunity to examine the work of four artists from the original 1973 exhibition.