Jason Farago profiles painter Mary Heilmann.

Heilmann's exhibition Looking at Pictures is on view at Whitechapel Gallery, London, through August 21, 2016.

Farago writes: "Most winningly, Heilmann deconsecrates the supposed purity of abstract art, infusing it with colours and forms from the outside world, mainly pop music… Heilmann’s big ideas and promiscuous use of different media have made her a hero for a new generation of painters… "