The Wrong Sex, an exhibition which runs from 9 April to 25 May 2024, shows the work of Fanchon Fröhlich (1927 – 2016), who graduated from Somerville College in 1953 with a DPhil for her research on post-Wittgensteinian linguistic philosophy.
The exhibition features framed prints of her work produced in the 1960s at Atelier 17 in Paris, set up by her friend and mentor, the prestigious printmaker Stanley William Hayter, about whom she later wrote a book with Sylvie Le Seac’h: S.W Hayter’s Research On Experimental Drawing. At Atelier 17, she exhibited alongside artists such as Joan Miro, Marcel Duchamp, Marc Chagall and William de Kooning. It was during her time at Atelier 17 that her work was most prominent, leading to her writing for the internationally renowned ‘The Situationist Times’. However, by the 1980s she had become overlooked in a male-dominated art world.
The exhibition will also include a selection of Fanchon’s research papers, her journals and photography of the artist’s fascinating life and pioneering work. It has been curated by artist Terry Duffy. Terry is the founder and CEO of The British Art and Design Association (BADA), to whom Fanchon bequeathed her archive to when she passed away. Terry explains that while the world is familiar with many of her male contemporaries such as Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko or Willem de Kooning, Fanchon was overlooked in her lifetime, purely because she was a woman. “Alongside writing and publishing works on quantum physics and philosophy, Fanchon was also a prolific Abstract, Expressionist painter, printmaker and draughtsperson. Throughout her life she was constantly pushing boundaries and travelled the world exploring new techniques and approaches in her work.
“Fanchon was an incredibly talented and innovative artist but, like many female artists and scientists of that time, she was in the shadows of her male counterparts. Abstract art tended to be a male domain and she was actually told by a woman gallery owner that she was simply ‘the wrong sex’. She left an 
extraordinary legacy of work which deserves to be recognised. This exhibition is an opportunity to introduce her work to a new audience and demonstrate the impact she had across artistic, scientific, and philosophical spheres.”
Born in the US, Fanchon moved to the UK in 1949 when she enrolled at Somerville College. It is thought she was influenced to study at Oxford after studying the Philosophy of Science at Chicago University under Professor Rudolph Carnap, founding member of the Vienna Circle. At Somerville, she studied under the eminent Professor Peter Strawson, who later hung one of Fanchon’s paintings in his office, and was also taught by Sir Stewart Hampshire. Fanchon went on to have papers Primary and Secondary Qualities published in the leading journal in philosophy Mind.
The first day of the exhibition on 9 April will culminate with a launch event at 5.30pm hosted by Terry Duffy and Sarah Butler, Librarian. If you would like to attend the launch event, please register here.