Edward and Nancy Reddin Kienholz

Edward Kienholz’s collaboration with his wife Nancy Reddin Kienholz began in 1972, when they met in Los Angeles. Edward had been an active artist for decades prior to meeting Nancy, a photojournalist. In their collaboration, the Kienholzes further developed the quasi-autobiographical, assemblage installations that Edward was famous for. Together, they created the biggest and most ambitious installation either had ever produced: Hoerengracht (1983-88), a life-size rendition of a 1980s Amsterdam brothel district. In speaking about their work with her husband, Nancy once told a critic: “As Ed would have said, it’s always so much more fun when there are scandalized patrons.” Their works together have addressed issues of racial discrimination, women’s rights, and the Vietnam War.