The final day of Art Basel I revisited the main show to see what I had missed from the opening night. I love viewing art in person that I have only seen on the internet or in books. One key element to understanding art is seeing the scale and the quality of the production firsthand. Unlike some of the side fairs, the big show in the convention center is filled with consistently well produced art. It is really a pleasure to experience it.
I realize putting 600 pixel wide pictures up here doesn't do them much justice. Hopefully, it serves as a record of what caught my eye. This year's Art Basel was a step up from 2008. As we move toward 2010 I hope this is a positive sign of things to come. Enjoy.
Kehinde Wiley, "Equestrian Portrait of King Philip II," 2009. Oil on canvas: 122.375 x 138.375 inches. at Deitch Projects, New York, NY.
Jon Kessler, "Mob Scene," 2009. Mixed media with motors, cameras and LCD screens. LCD Array: 66.5 x 53 x 24 inches, Mechanism: 84 x 57 x 20 inches. at Deitch Projects, New York, NY.
Kader Attia "Satellite Dishes" 2009. Light Box at Galerie Krinzinger, Vienna, Austria.
A pairing of older and newer works from Thomas Struth. The left two are from 1978 when Struth was shooting in New York. The top is "115th Street and 2nd Avenue, New York / Harlem, 1978" and the bottom images is "99th Street at 1st Avenue, New York / Harlem, 1978." They both were printed in 2002. The right large piece is "Museo Del Prado 3, Madrid" 2005. C-print. 80 5/8 x 97 5/8 inches at Marian Goodman Gallery, New York, NY.
Andreas Gursky "Dubai World III" 2008 c-print 93 5/16 x 134 13/16 inches (incl. frame) at White Cube, London, UK.
Just around the corner from there was another Andreas Gursky this one I had seen before in a book is called "Copan" 2002. C-print 81 x 103 inches at Matthew Marks Gallery, New York, NY.
Across from Gursky was a Thomas Demand "Fotoecke / Photobooth" 2009 C-print 70 3/4 x 78 inches at Matthew Marks Gallery, New York, NY.
Robert Longo "Untitled (Men in Cities)" Black and White photos, 1976 - 1982 / 2009 at Metro Pictures, New York, NY.
Andrea Robbins and Max Becher, from top: "Black Cowboys:Bill Pickett Rodeo 09 no.1" and "Black Cowboys:Bill Pickett Rodeo 09 no.2" both 1999 archival ink jet prints at Sonnabend Gallery, New York, NY.
Elger Esser, "La Grande Be, France" 2009 C-print 72 1/2 x 78 3/4 inches at Sonnabend Gallery, New York, NY.
Bernd and Hilla Becher, "Winding Towers (Anlagen)" 2007 (photographed from 1968-1997) 9 black and white photographs at Sonnabend Gallery, New York, NY.
Beate Gutschow "S#2" 2005 Light jet print, 57 3/8 x 49 1/2 inches at Sonnabend Gallery, New York, NY.
Mario Garcia Torres "The Improbability of Common Sense" 2009 Acrylicand silkscreen ink on linen.
Kader Attia "Rochers Carres", 2009 at Galeries Christian Nagel, Berlin and Galerie Graesslin, Frankfurt, Germany.
Scott McFarland "Sugar Shack, Caledon Ontario" 2009 Digital C-print 72 x 105 inches at Regen Projects, Los Angeles, CA.
Doug Aitken "Free," 2009 at 303 Gallery, New York, NY.
Florian Maier-Aichen "Untitled (Passo Stelvio) 2009 C-print 70 3/4 x 98 1/4 inches at 303 Gallery, New York, NY.
Yinka Shonibare, MBE "Willy Loman: The Rise and Fall (Paradise)" 2009 C-type print 90 x 70 inches) at Stephen Friedman Gallery, London, UK.
Yoshitomo Nara at Tomio Koyama Gallery, Tokyo, Japan.
Mikhael Subotzky at Goodman Gallery, Capetown, South Africa.
Mikhael Subotzky at Goodman Gallery, Capetown, South Africa.
Ernesto Ballesteros from the series "Covered Light Sources" Permanent black marker on photography, at Galeria Nara Roesler, Sao Paulo, Brasil.
Paul Pfeiffer "Fragment of a Crucifiction (after Francis Bacon)" 1999 at carlier | gebauer, Berlin, Germany.
Robin Rhode "8 Ball," 2007, 16 digital prints at carlier | gebauer, Berlin, Germany.
Quite possibly my favorite piece of the day was this Paul Pfeiffer gold chromed TV in the front left of the booth. "Caryatid (Wrestling)" 2009 at carlier | gebauer, Berlin, Germany.
It seemed like everyone in the media mentioned this Roxy Paine piece, "Maelstrom" 2009 at James Cohan Gallery, New York, NY. I had seen a different version of it on the roof at the Met but I still enjoyed it in the indoor environment. Maybe indoors is a better home than the roof where it competes with the sprawling views of central park.
Duane Hanson, "High School Student," 1990 at Emmanuel Perrotin, Paris, France.
Ryan McGinley "Wes (Scarlett Split)," 2009 at Team Gallery, New York, NY.
Caio Reisewitz, "Guanabara," 2009 C-print 70.8 x 90.5 inches at Luciana Brito Galeria, Sao Paulo, Brasil.
Mitch Epstein "Recreation: American Photographs 1973-1988" 2004 Dye Transfer 16 x 20 inches at (?)Sikkema Jenkins and Co., New York, NY.
missing info (please email me)
Rineke Dijkstra from Left, "Amy, Liverpool, England, December 22, 2008," and "Beth, Liverpool, England, December 22, 2008" both Archival inkjet prints 2008 at Marian Goodman Gallery, New York, NY.
Final stop of the night was a big group birthday bash for me and my early Sagittarius friends. Which was caped off with the best group birthday cake ever!!! Thanks to master baker and artist Jen Stark.