Ed Clark, Untitled, 2009. Photo: Thomas Barratt © The Estate of Ed Clark
‘Up Close and Personal’: Hauser & Wirth at Art Basel Miami 2020
This year's online presentation highlights works by leading US-based artists installed in the gallery’s new Chelsea building
Our presentation at Art Basel Miami Beach 2020 will focus on masterworks by leading US based artists from across the program, in a presentation that bridges the experiential gap between the virtual and the physical that has come to define art encounters in the year 2020. Additionally, our new augmented reality tool will allow visitors to the online booth to ‘place’ artworks in their own homes.
The gallery has installed more than 30 works in the intimate private viewing rooms of our brand new building in New York City, designed by Annabelle Selldorf. Visitors will be able to view these exceptional paintings, sculptures, and works on paper in situ virtually from anywhere in the world, or in person and by appointment on 22nd Street in New York.
Nicolas Party, Portrait with Red Flowers, 2020 © Nicolas Party
David Smith, Lunar Arcs on One Leg, 1956-1962 © 2019 The Estate of David Smith / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY
The presentation highlights important works by late masters Louise Bourgeois, Eva Hesse, Ed Clark, David Smith, and Jack Whitten. Works by these canonical figures are complemented by significant contributions from contemporary artists from the gallery’s program, including Nicole Eisenman, Simone Leigh, Roni Horn, Matthew Day Jackson, and Glenn Ligon.
A number of newly completed works will be on view. These include a Mama painting by Rita Ackermann, and a Special Characters work by Lorna Simpson. Among other highlights are ‘Portrait with Red Flowers’, a pastel work by Nicolas Party, and a wave painting by Mary Heilmann featuring an acrylic sand that is new to the artist’s practice.
Frank Bowling ‘Wadi √ Two’, 2011. © Frank Bowling
The booth will also feature a major work by Frank Bowling – the gallery’s first presentation of the artist who has recently joined Hauser & Wirth. The work, ‘Wadi √ Two’ (2011) depicts a balancing act: a tilted rectangle is placed at the center of the canvas and hints at movement. Set against a mauve, geometric background, Bowling creates his own interpretation of painterly abstraction. In addition, the booth will present an important selection of works that are resonant in today’s political climate.
Noted American artist Jenny Holzer references the recent election with works, ‘Selection from Truisms: Money creates taste’ (2015) and ‘see POTUS’ (2020). Also on view will be a historic work by artist and educator Charles Gaines, from his ‘Shadows’ series that shows the origins of his working with the grid. In addition to Hauser & Wirth’s virtual booth on Art Basel’s ‘OVR: Miami Beach’, the gallery will host an expanded presentation on hauserwirth.com.
The gallery will debut a special interactive augmented reality (AR) tool that has been developed by ArtLab, Hauser & Wirth’s in-house digital innovation team. In a time when so many are unable to travel to see exhibitions or visit fairs in person, the AR feature brings art to you, allowing users to ‘place’ select fair artworks inside their own homes. The works included are Rita Ackermann’s ‘Mama, Bon Jour Monsieur Bernard’ (2020), Ed Clark’s ‘Untitled’ (2009), Matthew Day Jackson’s ‘Ghost Bouquet V’ (2020), David Smith’s ‘Lunar Arcs on One Leg’ (1956 –1962), and Jack Whitten’s ‘Feedback Loops, II (The Curse of Ivan Meštrović)’ (2013) and will be freely available to experience in AR for the duration of the fair.
The site will host additional video content, backstage tours of the Selldorf building, and other special features. The gallery’s directors will also offer virtual and in-person tours of the works on view. – Art Basel Miami Beach runs from 2 - 6 December, 2020. Our presentation will be on view across both artbasel.com and hauserwirth.com.
