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12.15.2012

Fair Game: Painting in the Big Box

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The posts so far:
What to Wear to an Art Fair
Miami Overview 
Domestic Affairs 

Aisle views of Art Basel Miami Beach. Look at all the painting!
 

There was more painting at ABMB than I can ever remember--and this was my seventh fair. As always, there was a combination of contemporary and secondary-market work. I loved the opportunity to see work that had been hitherto hidden away. The Tornabuoni Art booth dedicated to the work of Lucio Fontana was stellar. And wait until you see the geometry of the very contemporary Carmen Herrera (now 90-something) with the work of John McLaughlin and Jo Baer from the Sixties.

Above and below: More aisle views



I made a real effort to look beyond my personal geometric preferences. I even put some figurative work into the mix. The order is visually fluid, looping into and out of geometry, and there are some interesting material surprises. In another post I'll show painting from the other fairs--because there was a lot of painting everywhere.

Ron Gorchov, foreground, at Cheim & Read, New York City
 

Ugo Rondinone, left, and Alex Israel at Almine Reich Gallery, Paris and Brussels
 

Julie Mehretu at John Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco
 

Some artists have a significant presence at several booths. Here, Gunther Forg at Galerie Barbel Grasslin, Frankfurt . . .
 

. . . and elsewhere, above and below
Foreground: Sean Scully at Galerie Lelong, New York City

 

Keltie Ferris at Mitchell-Innes and Nash, New York City
 

Bridget Riley at Pace, with sculpture by Bosco Sodi
 

Bosco Sodi painting with detail




Bill Jensen at Cheim & Read, New York City
(I'll show you the sculpture in another post)
 

Ghada Amer also at Cheim & Read
 

Richard Aldrich at Bortolami, New York City
 

Henrique Oliveira at Galleria Millan, Sao Paolo
 

Joe Bradley at gallery undetermined
Detail below
 
 
 
Howard Hodgkin and Ameringer|McEnery|Yohe, New York City
Installation below with Patrick Wilson

 

Keltie Ferris again at Mitchell-Innes and Nash, with a small Kenneth Noland from 1967, below

 

Jon Thompson at Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London
 

Gerhard Richter at Marian Goodman Gallery, New York City
 

Agnes Martin at Pace
 

John Golding at Annely Juda Fine Art, London
 

Imi Knoebel at Kewenig Galerie
Individual work below

 

Sarah Morris at Petzel, New York City
 

Morris again at White Cube, London
 

 Max Bill, center and right, at unidentified gallery; Josef Albers at left
(I liked seeing Albers in this context; usually the paintings are paired with John Chamberlain sculptures, oh, everywhere)
 

Angela De La Cruz at Lisson Gallery, London
Detail below

 

Stanley Whitney at Team Gallery, New York City
 

Pablo Rasgado (?) at Arratia Beer, Berlin
 

James Brooks at Greenberg Van Doren, New York City
 

Kirsi Mikkola at Carlier|Gebauer
 

Installation view, Janaina Tschape at Galerie Fortes Vilaca, Sao Paolo

 

Juan Usle at Cheim & Read, New York City
 

Ernst Wilhelm Nay, from 1967; gallery unidentified
 

Leslie Wayne at Jack Shainman, New York City
Closer view below

 

Angel Otero at unidentified gallery
Detail below


Wu Shanzhuan, Long March Space, Beijing
 

Alexandre da Cunha at unidentified gallery
Detail below

 

Beatriz Milhazes at Mary-Anne Martin Fine Art, New York City
Detail below

 

Ryan McGinness at unidentified gallery
 

Caetano De Almeida at Galerie Luisa Strina, Sao Paolo
Detail below

 

Another Almeida from Luisa Strina
 
 
Marcus Linnenbrink at Ameringer|McEnery|Yohe, New York City
(Don't you love the dialog with the caution tape?)
 

Valentin Carron painting and Franz West sculpture at unidentified gallery
 

Charlotte Posenenske at Galerie Nelson-Freeman
 
 
Installation view of Alice Trumbull Mason painting at Joan Washburn Gallery. New York City, with Jack Pierson work via Richard Gray Gallery

Alice Trumbull Mason, Fire Festival, 1951
 

Sarah Crowner at Galerie Nordenhake
 

Yaima Carrazana at Galerie Elba Benitez, Madrid
Yes, they're painted chair seats

 

Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla, Shape Shifter, left, at Galerie Chantal Crouse
 
Detail below. Can you guess the material? Here's the label info:
"Used sandpaper sheets on canvas"

 

Adam McEwen, Untitled, graphite mounted on aluminum panel, at Art: Concept, Paris
Detail below

 

Andy Warhol, Diamond Dust Shoes, 1980-81, at Michael John Gallery, Los Angeles
 
 
Above and below: Pae White prints on metal at Kaufmann Repetto, Milan

 

Carmen Herrera at Lisson Gallery, London
Full view of painting below
 

 

Two paintings by John McLaughlin, circe early Seventies, at Greenberg Van Doren, New York City
 
Closer view, below 
 

Joe Baer, Untitled, 1968-69, at unidentified gallery
Detail below

 

Tornabouni Art, Paris, dedicated an entire booth to the Concetti Spaziali of Lucio Fontana. The walls resembled stage wings, adding to the drama of the installation


Detail below of the red painting shown above and above that, in a view from the aisle


Another installation with closer view below


 
Let's close on a figurative note. One thing I noticed was the number of paintings of girls, not just at ABMB but throughout the fairs. These were not Henry Darger girls but surprisingly strong young women who met the viewer's gaze (perhaps even challenged it). I'm sure it makes a difference that two out of the three here were painted by women
Eduardo Berliner at Juliana Cerqueira Leite Gallery
 

Chantal Joffe at Victoria Miro, London
 

Nicola Tyson at Petzel Gallery
 

And my new favorite favorite painter, whose work I  saw for the first time at NADA two years ago: Rose Wylie, a British painter, at Michael Janssen Gallery, Berlin

 

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Despite the heavy competition I think Kenneth Noland wins this one!

Kate P. Miller said...

My comment is WOW, this blog is enough to leave one breathless, what fabulous coverage, so much glorious art. You have REALLY outdone even your own self Joanne! Fabulous post, thank you so much for all of the art to look at and your insights. I will be goiing back and rereading this blog for a long time to come!

Susan Schwalb said...

Wow, now this is a symphony. It sounds like I missed a great fair! Was there much in the way of drawing? Hope you are feeling much better.

CMC said...

I can repeat the WOW... love the fact that paintings are in the forefront. Looking forward to your insights. Thank you for posting, Joanne.

Fanne Fernow said...

j. Agnes Martin once said something like "don't waste time looking at art you don't like." This post was a feast. I spent a lot of time looking at these. A beautiful selection. Totally worth my time. I'll be sharing with friends and looking again.

Julian Jackson said...

As the opening bars of the Disney theme used to sing on a high note then a low..."COLOR! color." So many interesting color delivery strategies on display here, hitting so many diverse pleasure buttons. Even the sandpaper scratched an itch. Thanks so much for sharing. Some old favorites nice to see in the big tent, Max Bill, Alice Trumbull Mason, Carmen Herrera, John McLaughlin. In all the perfect bathwater for today's gray drizzlies. Ahhh.

lxv said...

Joanne, whatever you're on, I want some. The sheer energy of your post blows me away. And I didn't have to walk it, let alone fly down there and back. Thanks!

zach said...

very nice !!! I noticed a lot of these same pieces too, except for the figurative which was completely under my radar - I thought that Bill Jensen was the best thing in the building really, and undervalued at $40,000 - hellishly difficult to photo tho

Erin said...

Thanks so much for the awesome coverage of the fairs - I have come to depend on it!

Tamar said...

A dazzling array of paintings! Loved that wall with Josef Albers and Max Bill. Thanks Joanne.

Nancy Natale said...

Great group of paintings and thanks for posting so many! You do a fabulous job of keeping those of us at home (and safe from the tropical germs) up with the scene, filtered through the Mattera Eye. Thank you, as always!

Peggy Epner said...

Thank you for this fabulous post. I am in love with the use of sandpaper by Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla!

Christine Sauer said...

Thanks so much for sharing...love to see work of artists new to me and many familiar names...I appreciate your dedication. I am partial to Beatriz Milhazes and Caetano De Almeida, artists whose work I will be googling.

M.A.H. said...

Thanks for the post. Love the Rose Wylie.

lisa said...

I have to agree with the WOW factor. I can't believe the amount of paintings in the fair. Very exciting and thanks again for posting and doing what you do so well

northierthanthou said...

Interesting stuff, but I worry that it could lead to dancing.

Fiona the Artist said...

Thank you for sharing these works, I have so enjoyed looking at them. I know of some of the artists but just found some new artists to follow! I also really appreciate the sense of scale you have given to each work. As an artist who lives in the UK, and is not able to get to these events, it is great to get such an intimate glimpse of this.