Few artists have managed to sustain the prolific production that defines the career of New York-based A.L. Steiner. Born in Miami as Amy Steiner, the artist is one of the core members of Chicks on Speed — an all-female electroclash band first formed at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts in 1997 — as well as an active photographer, video artist, and curator.

Using these varied approaches to art-making, Steiner continues the tradition of feminist artists like Carolee Schneeman, Yoko Ono, and Hannah Wilke, employing the body and a low-tech, DIY aesthetic to challenge the sexualization of the female form. In her recent photography exhibition 1 Million Photos, One Euro Each (Minimum order) at John Connelly Presents, Steiner used a straightforward approach to picture composition to create rough, riot-grrrl-esque snapshots of crotches, nudes, and clothed women.

With painter Nicole Eisenman, Steiner spearheaded the curatorial project and conceptual art collective Ridykeulous at Participant Gallery last spring, which showcased visually aggressive work that poked fun at lesbian and feminist taboos; one sculpture, entitled Bush Wackers, featured two beavers having oral sex. Steiner's latest effort, C.L.U.E. (color location ultimate experience), a video dance collaboration with robbinschilds at Taxter & Spengemann, takes on yet another medium, depicting the female figure against the natural and manmade world. With dancers clad in various monochromatic outfits eventually spanning the full spectrum of color, the video suggests a partnership between the figure and landscape that never feels forced or contrived. Rather, C.L.U.E. continues to exhibit the leveled field, whereby gender roles are defined purely by what you see instead of the cultural biases you already know.

-PJ