Ann Leda Shapiro. Portals of Healing and Resistance

On the Verge of Becoming is the first comprehensive monograph on the American artist Ann Leda Shapiro, whose visually arresting and symbolically layered works have challenged cultural taboos and institutional limits for over five decades. Shapiro works primarily in watercolor and drawing, developing delicate yet powerful works on paper that often incorporate symbolic and organic elements. Her art deconstructs the human body and reconstructs it as a mutable landscape—fluid, elemental, and intimately connected to the natural world. Her art weaves together figuration and abstraction in ways that confront and transcend traditional representations of gender, identity, and power.

Rooted in the countercultural movements of the 1960s, which sought to heighten consciousness and counter injustice in the art world, Shapiro’s practice has always reflected a deep engagement with both personal experience and political realities. From the censored works of her landmark 1973 Whitney Museum exhibition to her recent inclusion in major institutional shows at MoMA, the Seattle Art Museum, and Tai Kwun in Hong Kong, Shapiro’s trajectory reflects an uncompromising and evolving commitment to the role of art as both resistance and renewal.

Edited by Christina Yuen Zi Chung and Catharina Manchanda, the book offers new feminist and decolonial readings of Shapiro’s work. It includes an in-depth conversation with artist Joyce Kozloff, as well as over 150 pages of full-color reproductions and archival materials. This English-language publication is an essential contribution to feminist art history and a long-overdue recognition of a visionary artist whose work continues to resonate across generations and geographies.