ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH 2o14
SAÂDANE AFIF JOHN M ARMLEDER N. DASH PHILIPPE DECRAUZAT MARTIN DISLER HANS-PETER FELDMANN SYLVIE FLEURY MATHIEU MERCIER GEROLD MILLER CHARLOTTE POSENENSKE GERWALD ROCKENSCHAUB GITTE SCHÄFER LUCA TREVISANI
SAÂDANE AFIF Et l’Eternité, 2013-2014 Paint on canvas, digital print on plexiglass 215 x 138 x 10 cm (framed) 84.65 x 54.33 x 3.94 in (framed) Unique piece Certificate signed by the artist
“It is discovered./ What? Eternity./ In the whirling light/ Of sun becomes sea.” Afif’s title refers to Rimbaud‘s poetry. Here, the artist proposes his own interpretation of eternity, by sampling geometrical color blocks from a prior piece and superimposing them over the organic, irregular lines of the ocean’s waves. The wave foam pattern is printed on the glass, and its shadow on the background creates a 3D effect, blurring the lines between the planes.These orange rays seamlessly stretching across the tumbling waves build a dynamic composition, reminding us, in a romantic way, that the ocean is a mere reflection of sun and sky.
HANS-PETER FELDMANN Painting big “nude seen from behind after Ingres” 140 x 94 cm 55.12 x 37.01 in
As mentioned in the title, Painting big “nude seen from behind after Ingres” is based on Ingres’ 1808 The Valpincon Bather. Feldmann enlarges a detail of the original painting to fill his entire canvas. Paradoxically, he uses the traditional oil technique to zoom in the picture like a camera would do, in a way to challenge our connection to images at the age of digital reproduction. Of course, Feldmann is also interested in the sheer beauty of the cool and deliberate sensuality of the sitter.
GERWALD ROCKENSCHAUB MDF, laquered, 2012 Ă˜ 10 cm x 3 cm Ă˜ 3.9 in x 1.1 in Unique piece Certificate signed by the artist
Gerwald Rockenschaub has collected an extensive cache of reductionist geometric forms, colour concepts, computer animated loops, and industrial techniques which he uses to realise his personal visual vocabulary in a range of media. His works mirror the culture of logos and the pictorial symbols of our society. As a visual language they communicate traffic signs, product advertising, commercial identifications, pictograms or optical guidance systems in an overwhelming flood of information. This work consists in an eye-catching violet MDF disc, which appears as an unexpected period in the visible stream.
PHILIPPE DECRAUZAT Loop, “Are the rest of you ready? Go ahead”, 2014 Acrylic on canvas 243 x 214 cm 88.98 x 78.74 in Unique piece Certificate signed by the artist
Philippe Decrauzat is fascinated by movement and by the human perception of it. He finds inspiration in scientific and artistic research, in photography, but also, beyond fine arts, in cinema as well as sound. Using bespoke canvases, his paintings explore the possibilities for optical illusion. Relying upon an extensive visual vocabulary built from the legacy of Geometric Abstraction, Decrauzat seamlessly blends a palette of visual effects to “investigate the status of the image.” In this work, Decrauzat applies black lines to a shaped canvas, resulting in a piece that seems to fold and unfold endlessly. Cinema also being an optical illusion, the title comes from the first film with live recorded sound, the Dickson experimental sound film (1894-95): on the soundtrack, before the camera starts rolling, a man’s voice can be heard saying, “Are the rest of you ready? Go ahead!”
SYLVIE FLEURY Untitled, 2014 Mixed media on paper 42 x 59.4 cm 16.54 x 23.39 in Unique piece Signed verso, below right with pencil: Sylvie Fleury 2014
Through her approach of fashion and accessories, Sylvie Fleury is fascinated by the concept of surface. Esotericism can be interpreted as the surface of the soul, that is why the artist was naturally drawn to this aesthetic. Referring both to Plato’s allegory of the cave and to grotto from the Renaissance, Fleury gives her own interpretation of the cavern. Here, a phantasmagoric cave landscape is punctuated by fluorescent stalactites, where radiant crystals shine a colourful light. It is a place full of positive energy, nourishing the soul, where the self can be reborn.
JOHN M ARMLEDER Spark. Spark. Spark., 2004 98 plexiglass mirrors, convex approx. 367 x 738 x 10 cm / 144 x 290 x 4 in each mirror: 52.7 x 52.5 cm / 20.7 x 20.5 in Unique piece Certificate signed by the artist
John M Armleder quotes elements of the avant-gardes to question them in a post-modern context. Spark. Spark. Spark. works as a giant kaleidoscope, using Perspex mirrors as a ready-made, reflecting every single detail of the surrounding environment. Thus, despite its monumental scale, the work constantly withstands the eye by saturating our field of vision. Typically in Armleder’s work, this installation refers to both high and low categories. It is an immediate evocation of the mirror balls found in night clubs, whilst the multiplication of the reflected images refers to Warhol’s characteristic repetition. The convex mirrors remind of Jan van Eyck’s 1434 Arnolfini Portrait, and their shape evoke the simple beauty of minimalism. However, their number is symptomatic of today’s mass consumption, as an overwhelming visual overkill. Armleder swiftly combines art historical references in a multi-layered reflection on our present time.
MATHIEU MERCIER LASCAUX 983 on background UNIK 027-6A, 2014 Acrylic on canvas 220 x 111 cm 86.61 x 43.70 in Unique piece Signed verso bottom left: Mercier, LASCAUX 983 on background UNIK 027-6A, 2014
Mathieu Mercier takes everyday objects as a starting point to create works that either quote or mime their function. Almost like a Rorschach test, their familiar shapes allow a free interpretation. A blue monochrome crossed by white stripes on its lower part, this abstract triptych is based on the legacy of minimalism. Still, Mercier’s reduced colour palette and the geometric pattern remind of household goods. Height, width and also depth vary from one panel to the other, building a hybrid between painting and sculpture: the colours are not only flat on the canvas, they also develop in relief.
GEROLD MILLER set. 192, 2014 Stainless steel, lacquered 95 x 76 x 5 cm 37.4 x 29.92 x 1.97 in Unique piece Signed verso below in the middle: G. Miller 2014
Gerold Miller’s series set. represents a shift in his work. Miller has been concerned with the most fundamental questions of sculpture, relief and painting, placing a void at the centre of his works. For this new series, he closes his sculptures to create a rectangular wall object that seems a painting. Each piece represents the same form, playing on different variations of a highgloss car lacquer colour palette. An oblong sheet seems to float over the surface, casting its shadow over it and creating a three dimensional effect. These visually concise, monochromatic works show Miller’s further development of a vibrant combination of painting and sculpture, using high tech materials found in industrial production.
MARTIN DISLER Untitled, 1980 Dispersion paint on Pavatex 204 x 240 cm 80.31 x 94.48 in Unique piece Signed recto, below right: Disler 80
The Swiss artist Martin Disler (19491996) must be considered a major figure of the European painting scene which emerged in the late 1970’s. Autodidact, his oeuvre bears a powerful, even existential burdensomeness, an almost intoxicating rigour. Physical being, primarily that of the artist himself, is very much at play in his visual language, which carries palpable traces of his excessive and unsparing life. The anticipation of death permeates his entire oeuvre, as do moments of a great hunger for life. Both form Disler’s illusion-free vision of the condition humaine. Here, two unadorned, almost primitive figures either fight or embrace each other, and this duality reflects both ends of Disler’s work: liveliness and doom.
CHARLOTTE POSENENSKE Series DW Vierkantrohre, 1967-2014 6 elements, corrugated cardboard Dimensions variable Authorised reconstruction certified by the estate
The Vierkantrohre Serie DW are modular elements made of corrugated cardboard. In 1967 Posenenske developed the concept, which includes interaction with her works, allowing the free combination of the shapes without any given instructions. There is also a performative dimension to the project: the assemblage of the sculptures may be orchestrated as a performance, highlighting the modular aspect of the whole. As the reception of the work of art mostly depends on the way it is presented, Posenenske proposes the viewer a close reflection on its status, giving full latitude to curators and collectors to display these elements. Thus, the work she first sketched in 1967 constantly develops with every new presentation. Charlotte Posenenske (1930–1985) was active in Germany in the 1950’s and 1960’s, her oeuvre has been rediscovered lately. Considered as a key figure position between Minimal Art and Conceptual Art, she has been influencing younger generations with her concept of modularity.
GITTE SCHÄFER Nestor, 2013 Linen, shell, candied oranges, crab shell, chain 35 x 30 x 9 cm 13.78 x 11.81 x 3.54 in Unique piece Certificate signed by the artist
Keeping on her exploration of collage, Gitte Schäfer builds a surrealistic conversation between candied oranges, a crab shell and a necklace. By placing those objects within such tableaux, she dissolves their original character, allowing them to develop an auratic quality. In the Greek mythology, Nestor was an Argonaut, helping to fight the centaurs, and participated in the hunt for the Calydonian Boar. Schäfer’s work results from a close examination of tradition, religion, folk art, superstitions and fairy tales, which formally translates into abstract or geometric forms that could as well be interpreted in a spiritual way.
Front cover: Philippe Decrauzat Loop, “Are the rest of you ready? Go ahead”, 2014 (detail) Title page: Martin Disler Untitled, 1980 (detail)
This catalogue was published on the occasion of Art Basel Miami Beach December 3 to 7, 2014 Booth E12 – also available as eBook on www.mehdi-chouakri.com Booth design by David Saik, Berlin
Opposite page:
Photographs by
Luca Trevisani as though repetition can legitimize the act, 2014 Dried plants, copper sulphate crystals, showcase 25 x 61.4 x 28.4 cm 9.84 x 24.17 x 11.18 in Unique piece Certificate signed by the artist
Jan Windszus, Berlin Studio N. Dash, New York Sebastiano Pellion di Persano, Turin
Back cover:
All works © the artists and courtesy Mehdi Chouakri Gallery 1000 copies Printed by Spree Druck, Berlin
Charlotte Posenenske Palette-knife work, n. d. (detail) Casein paint on paper 65 x 50 cm 25.59 x 19.69 in Unique piece
Galerie Mehdi Chouakri Invalidenstrasse 117 10115 Berlin T + 49 30 28 39 11 53 F + 49 30 28 39 11 54 galerie@mehdi-chouakri.com www.mehdi-chouakri.com
ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH 2o14