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12.30.2010

Fair Enough: Color and Geometry

The posts so far:
Fair Enough: And I'm Off
Fair Enough: Traveling Incognita?
Fair Enough: All Over But the Posting
Fair Enough: Art or Trash?
Fair Enough: Prologue to the Report
Fair Enough: ABMB, Part 1
Fair Enough: ABMB, Part 2
Fair Enough: Aqua Art
Fair Enough: Pulse
Fair Enough: Seven
Fair Enough: Scope
Fair Enough: NADA
Fair Enough: Ink
Fair Enough: A Peek at Art Miami
Fair Enough: Doubletake at Art Miami
Fair Enough: Art Miami
Fair Enough: My Just Right Breakfast
Fair Enough: Speaking Volumes
Fair Enough: Moola-riffic
Fair Enough: Really Reductive
Fair Enough: High Fiber, Part 1
Fair Enough:: High Fiber, Part 2


Poul Gernes at Bjerrggard Gallery, Copenhagen; ABMB

Art Basel Miami Beach is is set up with long aisles containing booth after booth. The saturated color and bold shapes of geometric abstraction are as effective as neon in drawing attention to a gallery


Remember the story in the news some years ago about a man who lived in an airport? He couldn’t go back to his country, but the U.S. wouldn’t let him in. That's how I feel.  I’ve been living in the Miami Convention Center all month with side trips to the various other venues. Every day since I got back from the actual fairs I’ve been walking the aisles and peering into the booths, folder after folder, click after click. I have viewed each of 5000 images dozens of times.  

Specific themes may change from year to year—last year it was trees, remember?—but the geometry of line and curve is a constant. That’s the topic of this post. It’s the last of the curated posts. The next and final one, which I’ll post tomorrow, is the Wrapup. After that I’m going to take the rest of the year off.

Installation view at Gary Snyder Projects, New York; ABMB
I'm starting this post with vintage geometric abstraction. Yes, I know these galleries are in the business of selling art, but they also create a historical context for the contemporary work we see

Above: Sven Lukin, 1964. The perspective in the installation shot is misleading; this painting is about 12 x 12 inches
Below: Howard Mehring, 1966



Another great installation, here with masters of Minimalism, at Nyehaus/Franklin Parrasch Gallery, New York; ABMB
From left above: Jo Baer, John McCracken, John McLaughlin

Closer view of the John McLaughlin 

Above: Jo Baer at Nyehaus/Parrasch with a corner detail below



Below: Baer at Greenberg Van Doren, also at ABMB, with a work from 1968-69 (just visible is the Robert Morris felt work shown in High Fiber, Part 2)



More of less: Installation above and below at Matthew Marks Gallery, New York; ABMB

Above: Ellsworth Kelly painting; two Anne Truitt columns
Below: another view of the Truitts



Wall installation at Galerie Luisa Strina, Sao Paulo; ABMB
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Imi Knoebel in a dedicated space at Grasslin/Nagel, Frankfurt; ABMB
Below: My favorite of the three works



Installation at Team Gallery, New York; ABMB

Above: Cory Archangel unique c-print and undulating sculpture
Below: Stanley Whitney painting and another view of the sculpture



Sherrie Levine at Mary Boone Gallery, New York; ABMB
The installation shots give you a sense of scale so that I don't have to note dimensions in the captions

Below: closeup of one work, which is velvety casein on wood.



Frank Stella at Van De Weghe, New York; ABMB
Work shown is from 1977 (also in the frame: Calder mobile and Judd wall sculpture)


A Josef Albers Homage to the Square, 1961, at Helly Nahmad Gallery, New York; ABMB


Installation view, from the outside wall of the booth looking in, of Kenneth Noland paintings (with Anthony Caro sculptures) at Greenberg Van Doren Gallery, New York; ABMB

Above and below: additional views



Rivane Neuenschwander painting, app 11 inches high, at Stephen Friedman, London; ABMB
.

Bridget Riley,Chant, 1967, at Aquavella Galleries, New York; ABMB
Detail below



Thomas Glassford at Sicardi Gallery, Houston; ABMB
Those verticals? Broomsticks


Daniel Buren at Xavier Hufken, Bruxelles; ABMB


Sarah Morris at White Cube, London; ABMB


Chris Johanson painting, 58 x 66 inches, at Altman Siegel, San Francisco; NADA


Chris Gallagher at McKenzie Fine Art, New York; Aqua Art


Bernd Ribbeck at Galerie Kamm, Berlin; ABMB
Installation view, above, with closeup below


Small work (by Chris Duncan?) at Gregory Lind Gallery, San Francisco; Aqua Art


I was struck by the references to color systems, especially color wheels, at the fairs this year (I brake for color wheels)

Karina Peisajovich showed a fabulous grouping color studies at Alejandra Von Hartz Gallery, Miami; ABMB. I braked. Detail below



 Lucas Samaras painting, 1973, at Pace, New York and elsewhere; ABMB


Continuing with circles: Jylian Gustlin assemblace of stitched rubber at Stephanie Breitbard Gallery, Mill Valley, California; Aqua Art


Gunther Uecker nail painting, 1970, at Galerie Thomas, Munich; ABMB
Detail below



Anich Kapoor reticulated disc about six feet in diameter at Barbara Gladstone Gallery, New York; ABMB
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Alicia McCarthy at Jack Hanley Gallery, New York; NADA
..
.
Megan Whitmarsh at Michael Rosenthal Gallery, San Francisco; Aqua
Detail above; full view below



Thomas Nozkowski at Pace Gallery, New York and elsewhere; ABMB


Peter Millet at Robischon Gallery, Denver; Aqua Art


Don Voisine at McKenzie Fine Art, New York; Aqua Art


Cildo Miereles at Galeria Luisa Strina, Sao Paolo; ABMB


Andrew Bick at Hales Gallery, New York; Seven


Ivin Ballen at Winkleman Gallery, New York; Seven


Leonhard Hurlzmeier at Gregory Lind Gallery, San Francisco; Aqua Art


Derrick Velasquez at Robischon Gallery, Denver; Aqua Art


Ara Peterson at Ratio 3, San Francisco; ABMB


Bridget Riley, recent painting, at Pace; ABMB


Pedro Reyes (I think) at Galeria Luisa Strina, Sao Paolo; ABMB


Ted Larsen at Robischon Gallery, Denver; Aqua Art


Richard Purdy at Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York; Art Miami
Detail below

Fanny Senin at Durban Segnini Gallery, Miami; Art Miami


Joe Fyfe at Graham Gallery, New York; Art Miami

Imi Knoebel at Sabine Knust, Munich; ABMB


Joanne Mattera at Conrad Wilde Gallery, Tucson; Aqua Art
(Yes, moi)

Dan Flavin at Nyehaus/Franklin Parrasch Gallery, New York; ABMB


Paulo Pasta at Galeria Millan, Sao Paolo; ABMB


Ronald Davis at Charlotte Jackson Gallery, Santa Fe; Art Miami


Sarah Crowner at Nicelle Beauchene, New York; NADA



Charles Arnoldi at Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe; Art Miami

Tomorrow: The Wrapup

13 comments:

annell4 said...

My favorite post yet!!! I love it! Especially nice to see your work! Thank you so much. This has been incredible!

Susan Buret said...

Yum, what a feast. thank you Joanne.

Ian MacLeod said...

thank for posting these extraordinary pieces.

I love the Jo Baer with the corner detail, the 3 Imi Knoebel works, the stitched rubber by Jylian Gustlin, Don Voisine grouping (especially the piece in the middle with the aqua bars top and bottom ---- and those Joanne Mattera pieces are wonderful.

kim matthews said...

Yeah yeah! These are fabulous. Grazie, bella!

Oriane Stender said...

love!

Anonymous said...

this is my fave of the miami posts yet - that Jo Baer is a pure piece of heaven

Nancy Natale said...

Excellent! This work is just beautiful. I love all the rich color. Thanks, Joanne!

Richard Bottwin said...

WOW! What a great post! Loved it. It gave me hope that there is some justice in the world (or at least, the art world). The Hurlzmeier was divine and the wall of Voisines was incredible. So few paintings look good stacked up like that, and that installation really sang (your stacked stuff too).
Love ya!

Tamar said...

Beautiful! Love the Andrew Bick and the Sarah Crowner pieces. Thanks again for the wonderful coverage.

peggy said...

In a word...outstanding!

Caroline Roberts said...

Fascinating and beautiful!

I love those color wheels too, I'd have been braking right alongside you.

Anonymous said...

Great coverage as usual! Thanks for taking the time to document the fairs for those of us who didn't make it this year.

The shot labeled "Barry McGee at Ratio 3" is actually an Ara Peterson. :)

http://www.ratio3.org/artists/ara-peterson

Joanne Mattera said...

Ara Peterson it is! Thanks for letting mt know.