Antoine Helwaser Gallery 2017.12.05 - 2017.12.10
Art Miami 2017 Vivid Color, Striking Form Booth A515
Alex Katz Red Hat (Nicole), 2013 Oil on linen 213.4h x 152.4w cm 84.02h x 60w in
Vivid Color, Striking Form Bringing together pioneering artists that broke new ground in the New York art scene and who redefined color and line in the twentieth century, Antoine Helwaser Gallery’s presentation at Art Miami 2017 deals with both abstract and figurative art. The Art Miami presentation emphasizes a distinct visual language based on expression and emotion, and approaches to form itself. From Yayoi Kusama’s infinite repetition of radiating brush-strokes to Sol Lewitt’s meandering lines, these artists lay stress on formal elements which gave meaning to their art. On view is Adolph Gottlieb’s Asterisk on Brown (1967), comprised of abstract symbols arranged on the canvas. The work’s universalist and simple imagery exemplifies the artist’s focus on timeless, “truthful” art, aimed at reaching the viewer’s subconscious. Markedly different from Gottlieb and the first-generation of Abstract Expressionist painters, Helen Frankenthaler’s Color Field painting underlines gestural brushstrokes and techniques, rather than mythic or symbolist tendencies. Aqueduct (1987) frames bold strokes of pink, black and green hues of oil paint against each other, characterizing Frankenthaler’s painterly technique. The presentation will also delve into the work of later post-war New York artist, Alex Katz, highlighting his formal concerns of the human figure with the work Red Hat (Nicole) (2013). Alex Katz developed his highly
stylized aesthetic in reaction to 1950s Abstract Expressionism, finding his own distinctive resolution between formalism and representation. Two earlier works by Yayoi Kusama, Nets 45 (1998) and Oil No. 7 (1997) part of Kusama’s seminal “Infinity Nets” series, will also be on show. The intensity of the crescent-shaped impasto repeated all over the canvas evokes the compulsiveness of Kusama’s gestures, amplified by the use of wilful hues and dizzying repetitions. Abstract, yet figurative, Jean Dubuffet’s Portrait d’Homme (1958) showcases Dubuffet’s spirit of originality. While this works points to Dubuffet’s large influence on New York’s avant-gardes, it also provides a closing point to the exhibition and acknowledges the reactionary nature of many of the modern art movements that arose in the post-war era.
Yayoi Kusama Nets 45, 1998 Acrylic on canvas 13h x 10w in 33.02h x 25.40w cm
Yayoi Kusama Oil No.7, 1997 Oil on canvas 25 5/8h x 20 7/8w in 65.09h x 53.02w cm A groundbreaking artist that contributed to both Pop Art and Minimalist art movements, Yayoi Kusama’s body of works appeals to the viewers’ imagination and senses. The two “Infinity Nets” paintings, composed of a multitude of repetitive cresent-shaped brushstrokes, suggest seemingly ever-expansive nets that stretch out across the face of the canvas.
Alex Katz Red Hat (Nicole), 2013 Oil on linen 84h x 60w in 213.36h x 152.40w cm Rendered in a flat style that takes cues from everyday culture such as advertising and cinema, the imposing figure
portrait illustrates the artists’s visually flattened, colorful style. Contrasting the pale color of his subject’s skin with the vibrance of the red hat, the painting displays Katz’s leanings towards both Minimal and Pop aesthetics.
Adolph Gottlieb Asterisk on Brown, 1967 Oil on canvas 40h x 30w in 101.60h x 76.20w cm
Sam Francis Untitled, 1965 Gouache on Paper 71 3/4h x 36 3/4w in 182.25h x 93.34w cm
Helen Frankenthaler Aqueduct, 1987 Acrylic on canvas 62 3/4h x 39 1/2w in 159.38h x 100.33w cm Helen Frankenthaler was a second-generation Abstract Expressionist painter who became active in the New York School of the 1950s. The artist gained fame with her invention of the color-stain technique—applying thin washes of paint to unprimed canvas. Her abstract visual language, which comprised of staining the canvas with swathes of color, evokes elements of landscape painting.
Tom Wesselmann From Bedroom Painting #42, 1978/91 Oil on cut-out steel 64h x 72w in 162.56h x 182.88w cm In the Bedroom Paintings series, Wesselmann depicts the female nude figure looming in the foreground of the steel cut piece, surrounded by objects from everyday life. The organic lines of the curves of the body, travelling from the top of the nipples to the woman’s face, overlap with vibrant shapes representing cushions and flowers. The sophisticated composition, which shows the woman laying down in a diagonal position, exemplifies the artist’s practice in reuniting figuration and abstraction. In a work that conveys the beauty of representational art, Wesselmann’s art marks an important point in art history.
Roy Lichtenstein Drawing for Modern Painting Triptych II, 1967 Graphite and colored pencils on paper 4 1/4h x 10w in 10.79h x 25.40w cm Mining material from advertisements, comics, and the vernacular, Lichtenstein brought commercial art into the gallery. His flat, single-color paint and stencils, rendered meticulously by hand on his canvas, stressed the artificiality of his icons.
Sol Lewitt Untitled (Gray, White and Black Wavy Lines), 2004 Gouache on Paper 14 3/4h x 44 1/2w in 37.47h x 113.03w cm Sol Lewitt pioneered a conceptual approach towards art and art-making, promoting the idea behind the work as much as the work itself. Consisting of lines and basic shapes, applied following geometrical and architectural specifications, Lewitt’s work contributed to the passage from the Modern to the Post-Modern era.
Jean Dubuffet Portrait d’Homme, 1958 Collage mounted on board 21 1/2h x 16 1/2w in 54.61h x 41.91w cm Included in the presentation is an homage to one of the earliest forerunners of Modernism, Jean Dubuffet. The artist had lived in New York from 1951 to 1952, before returning to Paris. This collage work showcases Dubuffet’s child-like sensibility and exemplifies Dubuffet’s valuing of an unlearned, explorative and genuine approach to art-making. Dubuffet was the founder of the Art Brut movement, which influenced many artists in France, New York, and Chicago.
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