The Austrian painter Maria Lassnig moved to New York in 1968, leaving behind a thriving career to explore what she called “the land of strong women.” She lived in the city virtually unknown for twelve years, keeping a low profile and producing a protean body of paintings, drawings, watercolors, silkscreens, and animations. “Woman Power: Maria Lassnig in New York 1968–1980,” at Petzel Gallery through October 29, exhibits her work from this period. Lassnig, who died in 2014, is remembered for her self-portraiture and “body-awareness paintings”: her effort to translate physical sensations to the canvas. “The only true reality is my feelings,” she said, “played out within the confines of my body.”

Maria Lassnig, Woman Power, 1979, oil on canvas, 71.65″ x 49.61″. © Maria Lassnig Foundation / The Essl Collection, Klosterneuburg / Vienna.

Amerikanische Katzen, 1971, oil on canvas, 32.28″ x 33.46″.

Iris stehend, 1972/73, oil on canvas, 76.57″ x 50.98″.

Television night, 1977, pencil, water color on paper, 17.99″ x 23.78″.

WOMAN WORLD !, c. 1970s, pencil on paper, 24.02″ x 18.03″.

Selbstportraet als Indianergirl, 1973, oil on canvas, 71.65″ x 50″.