ART NEWS:June 01
The 49th Edition of Art Basel in Basel features 290 International galleries from 35 countries that present artworks ranging from the early 20th Century to contemporary artists, 16 galleries participate for the first time. The core of Art Basel’s show is its Galleries sector that features 227 exhibitors. Projects from established and historical artists are precisely curated by gallerists in the Feature sector, with curatorial projects, showing both historical and contemporary work. Every year, the work of emerging artists and young galleries can be discovered through solo presentations in the Statements sector. Unlimited, Art Basel’s unique platform for projects that transcend the limitations of a traditional art-fair stand, presents works ranging from large-scale sculptures and paintings to video projections, installations and live performances. Further details will be announced in the coming months. Parcours, is a series of site-specific sculptures, interventions and performances presented by Art Basel galleries. Parcours takes place around Basel’s Münsterplatz and is open to the public free of charge. Info: Art Basel Art Fair, Messe Basel, Messeplatz, Basel, Private Days: (by invitation only): Tue-Wed (12-13/6/18) 11:00-20:00, Vernissage (by invitation only): Wed (13/6/18) 16:00-20:00, Public Days: Thu-Sat (14-16/6/18) 11:00-19:00, Sun (17/6/18) 11:00-19:00, Admission: Day ticket: CHF 60, Evening ticket, after 17:00: CHF 28. Two-day ticket: CHF 100, Permanent ticket: CHF 140, Reduced day ticket for Students/Seniors: CHF 45, Combination ticket for Art Basel and Design Miami: CHF 85, www.artbasel.com
The joint exhibition “Vocalizing” focuses on the written word used by Tomaso Binga and Greta Schödl from the beginning of their long careers. Greta Schödl’s delicate and intricate works scale from postcard size to over 3 meters long. Geometric forms and bold colors are interwoven with written words, repeated obsessively until they appear abstract. The results are mystical compositions imbued with simple language and homely materials; as if Schödl’s domestic world transcends to another place, through her captivating material language. Tomaso Binga changed her name to a male pseudonym to disguise her sexual identity and make a parody of the cultural privileges reserved for male artists. Since the 1970s Binga has been a driving force of avant-garde feminism, working in a multi-disciplinary practice engaging performance, film, painting, collage and poetry. Binga’s “Typecode” works of the late 70s comprise typewritten letters and symbols which are repeated and overlaid to result in obscured, abstract graphic compositions. Much like the decision to change her name as a mark of liberation, Binga’s coded geometric diagrams represent a language freed from the restrictions of a male-dominated society, as letters of the alphabet are rearticulated to manifest a new aesthetic language. Info: Curator: Paola Ugolini, Richard Saltoun Gallery, 41 Dover Street, London, Duration: 31/5-7/7/18, Days & Hours: Tue-Fri 10:00-18:00. Sat 11:00-17:00, www.richardsaltoun.com
Jenny Brillhart’s work consistently involves the interactions of light and shadow, depth and surface, structure and color. The material interplay of painting, photography, and sculptural elements form the basis for Brillhart’s approach to her surroundings and her everyday life. In particular, overlooked, mundane, yet deeply familiar objects and spaces serve as the central motif. Her current solo exhibition “Where the rubber meets the road” invites viewers to dive into the realm of the still life as landscape, similar to her earlier series “Overcast” and “Saxony Hotel”. The title of this exhibition is connected to the artist’s background. In a figurative sense, the American proverb can be understood as a critical moment, as what’s essentially important in life, the potential. At the same time, the title is a reference to the place where the artist lives. Burning rubber in attempts to make long and very visible tire tracks is not an uncommon craft in rural Maine. Info: Kuckei + Kuckei, Linienstraße 158, Berlin, Duration: 1/6-21/7/18, Days & Hours: Tue-Fri 11:00-20:00, Sat 11:00-17:00, www.kuckei-kuckei.de
Carol Bove’s solo exhibition features new sculptures (all 2018) that expand on her investigations of materiality and form. Characterized by compositions of various types of steel, Bove’s ongoing series of “collage sculptures,” begun in 2016, amalgamates theoretical and art-historical influences across time periods and disciplines, much like the Chicago Imagists of the 1960s, whose collagist aesthetic combined disparate styles and techniques. To create these abstract assemblages, Bove combines, in differing permutations, geometric tubing that has been crushed and shaped at the studio, found metal scraps, and a single highly polished disk. Luminous color is applied to parts of the composition, transforming the steel into something that appears malleable and lightweight. Bove manipulates steel to varying degrees, rendering gentle folds in some, and extreme, almost anthropomorphic contortions in others. Their contrasting textures create a further sense of visual play, heightening the surface tension throughout. Info: David Zwirner Gallery, 24 Grafton Street, London, Duration: 8/6-4/8/18, Days & Hours: Tue-Sat 10:00-18:00, www.davidzwirner.com
Although Gerhard Munthe was known as a landscape painter, his most original and significant contributions were in the fields of design and decorative art. In the exhibition “Gerhard Munthe. Enchanted Design” are on presentation 230 works of design and decorative art by the artist. Inspired by Norwegian sagas and folk art, ancient history, Norwegian folk art, Japanese art, and Art Nouveau, Munthe became one of the first Norwegian industrial designers during the late 19th Century. Munthe’s motifs and color schemes once again in vogue, his imagery was influenced by the Viking Age, an era that has served as the backdrop for quite a few recent movies and TV series. Similarly, Munthe’s vibrant use of colors in watercolours and tapestries is being echoed in today’s interiors. Info: Curators: Widar Halén and Jan Kokkin, Nasjonalmuseet, The National Gallery, Universitetsgata 13, Oslo, Duration: 8/6-2/9/18, Days & Hours: Tue-Wed & Fri 10:00-18/:00, Thu 10:00-19:00, Sat-sun 11:00-17:00, www.nasjonalmuseet.no
The first solo exhibition in Italy of the American sculptor Gary Kuehn “Il diletto del praticante” comprise four sections, hosted by the Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Bergamo display areas and Palazzo della Ragione’s prestigious Sala delle Capriate,. It presents a significant core of about 70 works, including sculptures, drawings, paintings, and installations, among the most important in the artist’s corpus, dating from the early 1960s to the most recent pieces, with a series of new items specifically made for this occasion. The show explores a multidirectional path that aims to review the evolution of Gary Kuehn’s artistic language and highlight the surprising relevance of his work. Kuehn experimented with different materials (tar, fiberglass, latex, metal, wood) and an incredible breadth of creative possibilities. Deformations and transformations, the basic form remaining intact, become visible and produce a narrative as well as a metaphorical moment. In 2000, Gary Kuehn noted that his work “lies somewhere between sex and geometry”. Info: Curator: Lorenzo Giusti, Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Bergamo (GAMeC), Via San Tomaso, 53, Bergamo, Duration: 8/6-26/8/18, Days & Hours: Mon. Wed & Fri-Sun 11:00-19:00, Thu 10:00-22:00, http://gamec.it
“Mural Paintings” is the first exhibition in France dedicated to Julije Knifer’s mural paintings. Internationally recognized as the most prominent Croatian artist, Julije Knifer was a founding member of the Avant-garde group Gorgona in Zagreb. In 1959 during his visit to Documenta in Kassel, Knifer was impressed by Barnett Newman and his painting “Cathedra” (1958). Knifer began very early to explore the intricate relation between space and painting previously introduced by Newman. In 1971, as part of Vera Horvat Pintarić’s TV-program Urban Image, Knifer created his first mural painting on the walls and the floor of the Vrapče primary school where he worked as an art teacher. The perfect symbiosis of the architecture of the school and the meander conferred to Knifer’s work a specific and original outcome. The meander was not imposed to the school walls but integrated in a way that the architecture won its spurs. Since his first mural, Julije Knifer created a series of large-scale meanders in exterior and interior public spaces. Info: Curators: Danka Sosic & Zarko Vijatovic, Galerie Frank Elbaz, 66 rue de Turenne, Paris, Duration: 9/6-28/7/18, Days & Hours: Tue-Sat 11:00-19:00, www.galeriefrankelbaz.com
Titled “We don’t need another hero”, the 10th Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art is a conversation with artists and contributors who think and act beyond art as they confront the incessant anxieties perpetuated by a willful disregard for complex subjectivities. Starting from the position of Europe, Germany, and Berlin as a city in dialogue with the world, the 10th Berlin Biennale confronts the current widespread states of collective psychosis. By referencing Tina Turner’s song “We don’t need another hero” (1985), the biennale draws from a moment directly preceding major geopolitical shifts that brought about regime changes and new historical figures. The 10th Berlin Biennale does not provide a coherent reading of histories or the present of any kind. Like the song, it rejects the desire for a savior. Instead, it explores the political potential of the act of self-preservation, refusing to be seduced by unyielding knowledge systems and historical narratives that contribute to the creation of toxic subjectivities. Info: Curator: Gabi Ngcobo, 10th Berlin Biennale, Various Locations, Berlin, Duration: 9/6-9/9/18, www.berlinbiennale.de
The exhibition “Graphic as Event” is devoted to the œuvre of Michael Riedel, which operates on the borderline between applied and visual arts. Alongside examples of his current work, the show highlights the “Signetic Drawing” (1994–96), a spectacular early work by the artist that now is on view in its entirety for the first time. It was purchased in 2016 by the Städelscher Museums-Verein. Executed at an early stage in his career, the group of over a thousand sheets already manifests Riedel’s artistic approach, which accords the graphic work the status of a self-sufficient artwork. Riedel’s concept of process, in terms of the aesthetics of production, is based on conditions of endless possible continuationsThe provocative question arises as to the role of the artist in the realm of reproductive intelligences and meandering information structures that permeates Riedel’s printmaking oeuvre in medially expansive manner. Info: Curator: Dr Eva Linhart, Museum Angewandte Kunst, Schaumainkai 17, Frankfurt, Duration 9/6-14/10/18, Days & Hours: Tue & Thur-Sun 10:00-18:00, Wed 10:00-20:00, www.museumangewandtekunst.de
The 23nd edition of LISTE Art Fair, one of the two most important art fairs of Contemporary art worldwide, is the last as we know it so far. This year´s LISTE presents 79 galleries from 32 countries, with works by over 170 artists. Peter Bläuer, the fair´s director, is very pleased that 16 of the 79 galleries are appearing at LISTE for the first time. The newly founded Friends of LISTE dedicates all of its support to the promotion of new galleries. Thanks to initial and very generous contributions, Friends of LISTE has awarded 10 galleries whose applications indicated especially promising stand presentations with a reduction in stand price. The 14th Performance Project is placing its focus on internationally relevant positions who share an interest in pushing the limits between the areas of performance, sound, music and musical theater. Helvetia Art Prize, which includes a monetary award of CHF 15,000 and a solo presentation at LISTE, goes to Gina Proenza, who received her bacherlor’s degree in “Arts Visuals” from the Haute Ecole d’Art de Lausanne. Also the Istituto Svizzero is LISTE’s guest in the print workshop with an exhibition entitled: “Fair–Models –Fragments of History, Evocative Fair Stands”. Info: Artistic Director: Peter Bläuer, LISTE Art Fair 2018, Burgweg 15, Basel, Days & Hours: Preview: (by invitation only) Mon (11/6/19) 12:00-17:00, Public Opening: Mon (11/6/19) 17:00-21:00, Tue-Sat (12-16/6/18) 13:00-21:00, Sun (17/6/18) 13:00-18:00, Admission: Single entry” CHF 20, Reduced entry: CHF 10 (Students/Seniors/AHV), Free admission for kids up to 16 years, if accompanied by an adult, After 20:00: Single entry CHF 6, Students/Seniors/AHV free admission, www.liste.ch
The exhibition “A journey through mud and confusion with small glimpses of air” describes an inner journey, an attempt to make existence more comprehensible in a flow of impulses and impressions. Nathalie Djurberg and Hans Berg create animated worlds out of objects, music and moving images – dreamlike realities to immerse yourself in. Their playfully-told fables blend humour with darkness, suspending any moral laws of gravity. Their intense chamber pieces enact fragments of memories repressed between innocence and shame, or feverish daydreams of role play and desire. They topple accepted truths about man’s supremacy in nature and our habitual understanding of remembrance, time and space. Embedded in these works is a burlesque social critique that – sometimes literally – undresses the men of power, given hierarchies and social norms. This is the artists’ largest exhibition for more than a decade on the international art scene. They have described it as an inner journey through chaos and confusion. Info: Curator: Lena Essling, Moderna Museet, Exercisplan 4, Skeppsholmen, Stockholm, Duration: 16/6-9/9/18, Days & Hours: Tue & Fri10:00-20:00, Wed-Thu 10:00-18:00, Sat-Sun 11:00-18:00, www.modernamuseet.se