Nicolai Howalt and Trine Søndergaard @Bruce Silverstein

JTF (just the facts): A total of 35 photographic works, variously framed and matted, and hung against white walls throughout the front room/entry, the main gallery space, and the smaller back room. The show mixes individual works by Nicolai Howalt (14) and Trine Søndergaard (10) and includes collaborations by the two artists together (11). The works span the period from 1997 to 2012. (Installation shots at right.)

Details on the available photographs are as follows:

Howalt

3 analog c-prints, 17×20 or 26×35, editions of 5+2AP, 1998-1999
3 analog c-print diptychs, each panel 24×19 or 55×47, editions of 3+2AP, 2001
1 digital c-print mounted to aluminum, 71×87, edition of 5+2AP, 2009
1 set 6 digital c-prints, each 26×32, edition of 5+2AP, 2009
4 digital c-prints, each 12×15, editions of 5+1AP, 2010
1 pigment print, 24×29, edition of 5+2AP, 2011
1 digital c-print, 70×61, edition of 5+2AP, 2011

Søndergaard

2 analog c-prints, each 19×19, editions of 5+2AP, 1997-2000
1 analog c-print diptych, each panel 19×19, editions of 5+2AP, 2003
1 chromogenic print mounted to dibond, 59×59, edition of 3+2AP, 2008
2 chromogenic prints, each 39×39, editions of 5+2AP, 2008-2009
1 pigment print, 2 digital c-prints, each 23×23, editions of 5+2AP, 2009
1 archival inkjet print, 59×59, edition of 5+2AP, 2012

Howalt and Søndergaard

3 photogravures, each 21×18, editions of 18+2AP, 2005-2010
5 digital c-prints, variously sized from 19×14 to 38×30, editions of 5+2AP, 2007
2 digital c-prints, each 62×78, editions of 3+2AP, 2010
1 silkscreen print, 55×39, edition of 5+2AP, 2012

Comments/Context: It isn’t often that a gallery show delivers not one but two mini-sampler career retrospectives, but this exhibit of the work of Nicolai Howalt and Trine Søndergaard does just that, with a selection of their joint collaborations thrown in for good measure. The overall effect is a bit bouncy (given the “one of each” style), but when you step back and sort through which pictures belong to whom, patterns, repeated themes, and visible progressions emerge for both artists. I had the distinct impression that in both cases, their work is getting stronger and more conceptually nuanced with each successive project.

Even a decade later, Howalt’s before and after boxers remain sharp and incisive. Angelic young faces become bloodied, sweaty, flushed and exhausted, the boys passing through a ritual trial, emerging roughed up but knowing. The artist’s more recent remnants of car crash violence and Danish border landscapes continue this study of edges and transitions, culminating in new nearly abstract images of cremation remains (the ultimate crossing point). What might sound dreary is in fact swirling and textural, with flecks of contrast mixed into the white and black powdery undulations.

Søndergaard’s photographs continue an ongoing investigation into the nature of portraiture, considering how cultural identifiers move from past to present and how indirect angles and turned away faces create different kinds of narratives. While her Versus pairings of look alike portraits and sculpture from the Thorvaldsens Museum and her Strude images of young girls obscured by folk costumes begin this line of thinking, her most recent work is even more intriguing. I was particularly engrossed by the elusive darkness in Søndergaard’s smart Monochrome Portraits, where sitters recede into enveloping shadowy color; the portraits are simple and straightforward, and yet entirely mysterious and uncertain. And in her Guldnakke series, the young women in ornate traditional bonnets face away, leaving the viewer to revel in the details of embroidery and threading but unable to directly connect the history to the modern world.

Their collaborative work over the years seems to weave their two separate perspectives into one seamless set of ideas. Silhouettes of crumpled birds shot midair, portraits of solitary trees fighting for existence in snow bound high altitudes, and composite scenes of hunting rituals (full of men, dogs, beaters, birds, and snowy forests) all mix portraiture with the fragility of life. Their recent screenprints of the gnarled, tactile forms of a 1500 year old tree continue this thinking, combining the rough texture of layered bark with the enduring puzzle of relentless, persistent growth.I think what I liked best about this show as the sense that the artists were idea people first, and that their art was an evolving visual manifestation of their experiments with those ideas. I suppose this same thing might be said of all artists to some degree, but for me, there was a very real feeling of tracing their individual/mutual paths of ideas here. The sampler organization of the show provides the photographic bread crumbs to follow, allowing viewers not just to see the fresh, new pictures made recently, but also to place them into a larger, more comprehensive intellectual context.

Collector’s POV: The prices in this show span a wide range, seemingly different for every single piece on view. Howalt’s works range from $3000 to $30000, while Søndergaard’s works range from $6300 to $19100 (with 1 NFS and 1 POR); their collaborations start at $1725 and rise up to $23000. While prints from both of the artists and their partnership have recently found their way into the secondary markets, there have been so few transactions that any kind of historical pattern is difficult to discern. As such, gallery retail likely remains the best option for those collectors interested in following up.

Auction Preview: Photographs, March 23, 2013 @Heritage Beverly Hills

Heritage has a various owner Photographs sale scheduled for later this week in Beverly Hills. While there are a few top end lots on offer, most of the work for sale is in the lower price bracket, with many later prints and lesser known images to be looked through. Overall, there are a total of 121 photographs available, with a total High estimate of $777500.

Here’s the statistical breakdown:

Total Low Lots (high estimate up to and including $10000): 106
Total Low Estimate (sum of high estimates of Low lots): $394500

Total Mid Lots (high estimate between $10000 and $50000): 14
Total Mid Estimate: $303000

Total High Lots (high estimate above $50000): 1
Total High Estimate: $80000

The top lot by High estimate is lot 74032, Irving Penn, Picasso, Cannes, 1957/before 1965, at $60000-80000 (image at right, top, via Heritage).

Here’s the complete list of photographers represented by three or more lots in the sale (with the number of lots in parentheses):

Peter Basch (6)
Ansel Adams (5)
Alfred Eisenstaedt (5)
Leonard Freed (5 )
Irving Penn (4)
Herb Ritts (4)
Jerry Uelsmann (4)
Berenice Abbott (3)
Andre Kertesz (3)
Helen Levitt (3)
Thomas Mangelsen (3)
Minor White (3 )
Francesca Woodman (3)

Other works of interest include Lot 74117, Justine Kurland, Kung Fu Fighters, 1999, estimated at $2000-4000 (image at right, bottom, via Heritage).

The complete lot by lot catalog can be found here.

Photographs
March 23rd

Heritage Auctions
9478 W. Olympic Boulevard
Beverly Hills, CA 90212

Everyday America: Photographs from the Berman Collection @Steven Kasher

JTF (just the facts): A total of 115 black and white and color photographs, variously framed and matted, and hung against white walls in the North and South gallery spaces, as well as the alcove and the smaller viewing room in back. A total of 32 different photographers are represented in the show. Sizes range from 6×4 to 55×45 (or reverse), and negative dates range from 1929 to 2004. All of the works come from the Berman collection. (Installation shots at right.)

The following photographers are included in the show, with the number of prints on view and their dates in parentheses:

Margaret Bourke-White (2 gelatin silver prints, 1935/1996, 1936/1996)
Harry Callahan (1 gelatin silver print, 1948/1970s)
William Christenberry (1 digital pigment print, 1976/2005)
William Clift (1 gelatin silver print, 1970)
Robert Dawson (1 chromogenic dye coupler print, 1985/1990)
William Eggleston (2 chromogenic dye coupler prints, 1970s)
Mitch Epstein (8 chromogenic dye coupler prints, 1973/2005, 1983/2005, 1996/1997, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 1 Fujicrystal archive print, 2004)
Terry Evans (2 archival inkjet prints, 2003, 2004)
Walker Evans (22 gelatin silver prints, 1929/1971, 1930/1971, 1931/1971, 1931/1974, 1930s/1971, 1935/1960s, 1935/1971, 1936/1971, 1936/1974, 1945, 1946, 1948, 1962/1960s, 1969)
Robert Frank (3 gelatin silver prints, 1953/1970s, 1956/1980, 1950s/1979)
Todd Hido (1 chromogenic dye coupler print, 2000)
Evelyn Hofer (4 gelatin silver prints, 1963/later, 1965/later)
John Humble (5 chromogenic dye coupler prints, 1991/2006, 1995/2003, 1995/2005, 1997/2005, 1998/2005)
David Husom (2 chromogenic dye coupler prints, 1981/2002, 2001, 1 Ektacolor print, 1978/1994)
Birney Imes (4 chromogenic dye coupler print, 1986, 1986/2004, 1989/2003)
Dorothea Lange (13 gelatin silver prints, 1930/1935, 1930s, 1935/1950, 1936/1950s, 1937, 1938, 1941, 1942, 1951/1965, 1952, 1957/1960s)
Russell Lee (4 dye transfer prints, 1940/1986)
Helen Levitt (2 gelatin silver prints, 1937/later, 1939/later)
Martin Parr (1 chromogenic dye coupler print, 2001)
Christian Patterson (1 chromogenic dye coupler print, 2003)
Sheron Rupp (2 chromogenic dye coupler prints, 1983/1990s, 1990/1990s)
Gene Peterson (9 gelatin silver prints, 1950)
Stephen Shore (1 dye transfer print, 1981/1982)
Aaron Siskind (3 gelatin silver prints, 1935/later, 1937/1976, 1938/1976)
Mike Smith (2 chromogenic dye coupler prints, 1996, 2000)
Joel Sternfeld (2 Ektacolor prints, 1983/1986, 1993/1994, 2 chromogenic dye coupler prints, 1997, 2005)
George Tice (1 gelatin silver print, 1970/1993)
John Vachon (1 dye transfer print, 1940/1985)
Chris Verene (1 chromogenic dye coupler print, 1993/2002)
Camilo Jose Vergara (4 chromogenic dye coupler prints, 1977, 1980, 1983, 1988)
James Welling (4 gelatin silver prints, 1990/1990s, 1991/1990s)
Henry Wessel (1 gelatin silver print, 1974)

Comments/Context: By its very definition, the word collector implies a focus on hunting, gathering, search and acquisition. It’s a forward looking, accretive mindset, generally adding up rather than subtracting. But at the end of every collecting road, there is a less well publicized unwinding, where artworks once treasured by the collector must find new homes. The three classic Ds (debt, death, and divorce) often act as catalysts for the breaking up process, but we tend not to spend much time talking about the best ways to actually make this disassembly take place smoothly.

The unpacking of the Berman collection of photography has been a particularly public example of the dispersion of a large collection. Once tallying up at over 2500+ photographs, its break up has been and continues to be a huge undertaking. To date, the remonetization of the collection has included donations to various Los Angeles museums (LACMA, MOCA, and the Getty), a series of auctions at Christie’s, and now the first of likely a few gallery shows of additional slices of material, with the overall process measured in years and heading for an end to end duration of nearly a decade.

This show combines lower priced and lesser known material that was likely not a terrific fit for auction with a number of vintage gems that somehow avoided earlier pick throughs. As a reminder, the Berman collection had a focus on American photography, with particular interest in built structures and vernacular architecture, mixing 20th century and contemporary work. This particular selection is heavy on work by Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange (both vintage and later prints), with a solid dose of Mitch Epstein and a sprinkling of Frank, Sternfeld, Siskind, Levitt and many others, known and unknown. Building facades, commercial signage, and sidewalk storefronts are common subject matter, mixing urban and rural locales with equal measure. The rigid geometries of Evelyn Hofer’s stone windows give way to John Humble’s saturated color California strip architecture, and Walker Evans’ New England interiors connect to Birney Imes’ vibrant Southern juke joints. Dorothea Lange’s Funeral Cortege, End of an Era in a Small Valley Town, from 1935 is the star of the show, with its classic pained expression caught in the hearse window.

All in, this is a lively compendium of American photography, covering roughly 75 years of artistic history. Hung up and down in jumping pairs and groups, there’s plenty to catch your eye and compare.

Collector’s POV: The prints in the show are priced as follows:

Margaret Bourke-White: $3000 each
Harry Callahan: $12000
William Christenberry: $4000
William Clift: $3500
Robert Dawson: $2000
William Eggleston: $12500, $20000
Mitch Epstein: $7500, $9500
Terry Evans: $3500 each
Walker Evans: $5000, $6000, $8000, $8500, $12000, $12500, $15000
Robert Frank: $8500, $12500, $25000
Todd Hido: $4800
Evelyn Hofer: $7500, $8500
John Humble: $5000 each
David Husom: $1800 each
Birney Imes: $1500, $2000, $4000, $5500
Dorothea Lange: $6000, $7000, $9000, $10000, $12000, $15000, $20000, $40000, $50000
Russell Lee: $3000 each
Helen Levitt: $6000 each
Martin Parr: $5500
Christian Patterson: $2500
Sheron Rupp: $1800 each
Gene Peterson: $1200 each
Stephen Shore: $9000
Aaron Siskind: $6000, $15000
Mike Smith: $2000 each
Joel Sternfeld: $5000, $12500, $15000
George Tice: $3000
John Vachon: $3000
Chris Verene: $15000
Camilo Jose Vergara: $3000 each
James Welling: $5000 each
Henry Wessel: $7000

Auction Results: First Open, March 8, 2013 @Christie’s New York

The photography in Christie’s First Open Armory week sale performed solidly. The overall Buy-In rate for the photographs on offer was less than 20% and the Total Sale Proceeds for photography fell in the middle of the range.

The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):

Total Lots: 48
Pre Sale Low Total Estimate: $1011500
Pre Sale High Total Estimate: $1438500
Total Lots Sold: 40
Total Lots Bought In: 8
Buy In %:16.67%
Total Sale Proceeds: $1154375

Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post, here):

Low Total Lots: 15
Low Sold: 14
Low Bought In: 1
Buy In %: 6.67%
Total Low Estimate: $103500
Total Low Sold: $151750

Mid Total Lots: 26
Mid Sold: 21
Mid Bought In: 5
Buy In %: 19.23%
Total Mid Estimate: $595000
Total Mid Sold: $473125

High Total Lots: 7
High Sold: 5
High Bought In: 2
Buy In %: 28.57%
Total High Estimate: $740000
Total High Sold: $529500

The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 90, Andreas Gursky, Atlanta, 1996, estimated at $250000-350000; it was also the top photography outcome of the sale at $314500.

97.50% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of four surprises (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):

Lot 78, Laurie Simmons, Untitled (Woman’s Head), 1976, estimated at $5000-7000, sold at $18750 (image at right, middle, via Christie’s)
Lot 80, Sturtevant, Duchamp Man Ray Portrait, 1966, estimated at $4000-6000, sold at $18750
Lot 258, Vik Muniz, Scissors (The Sarcezo Drawings), 2002, estimated at $8000-12000, sold at $30000 (image at right, bottom, via Christie’s)
Lot 264, Shirin Neshat, Soliloquy series (Veiled Women in Three Arches), 1999, estimated at $6000-8000, sold at $21250 (image at right, top, via Christie’s)

Complete lot by lot results can be found here.

Christie’s
20 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10020

Auction Results: Contemporary Art and Design Evening and Under the Influence, March 7 and 8, 2013 @Phillips New York

The results for the photographs buried in Phillips’ two Armory week sales were generally as expected: the Buy-In rate for photography was under 30% and the Total Sale Proceeds for photography cleared the aggregate low estimate.

The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):

Total Lots: 86
Pre Sale Low Total Estimate: $1412000
Pre Sale High Total Estimate: $2002000
Total Lots Sold: 62
Total Lots Bought In: 24
Buy In %: 27.91%
Total Sale Proceeds: $1491150

Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post, here):

Low Total Lots: 31
Low Sold: 20
Low Bought In: 11
Buy In %: 35.48%
Total Low Estimate: $232000
Total Low Sold: $184375

Mid Total Lots: 46
Mid Sold: 35
Mid Bought In: 11
Buy In %: 23.91%
Total Mid Estimate: $1040000
Total Mid Sold: $789775

High Total Lots: 9
High Sold: 7
High Bought In: 2
Buy In %: 22.22%
Total High Estimate: $730000
Total High Sold: $517000

The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 21, Richard Prince, Untitled (Massage), 1980-1981, estimated at $100000-150000; it sold for $146500.

87.10% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range. There were a total of 4 surprises in these sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):

Lot 133, Slater Bradley, Factory Ikon, 2007, estimated at $6000-8000, sold at $16250
Lot 134, Slater Bradley, Boulevard of Broken Dreams (Perine 02), 2009, estimated at $6000-8000, sold at $18750 (image at right, bottom, via Phillips)
Lot 267, Larry Sultan, Sharon Wild (from The Valley series), 2001, estimated at $4000-6000, sold at $21250 (image at right, middle, via Phillips)
Lot 279, Vitaliy and Elena Vasilieva, Ice (triptych), 2011, estimated at $25000-30000, sold at $106900 (image at right, top, via Phillips)

Complete lot by lot results can be found here (Contemporary Art and Design) and here (Under the Influence).

Phillips
450 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10022

Auction Results: Contemporary Art, March 7, 2013 @Sotheby’s New York

The photographic material in Sotheby’s recent Armory week Contemporary Art sale clearly didn’t attract much attention. The results of the sale were pretty dismal, with a Buy-In rate for photography over 50% and Total Sale Proceeds for photography coming in way under the low estimate.

The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):

Total Lots: 32
Pre Sale Low Total Estimate: $499000
Pre Sale High Total Estimate: $704000
Total Lots Sold: 15
Total Lots Bought In: 17
Buy In %: 53.13%
Total Sale Proceeds: $271625

Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post, here):

Low Total Lots: 8
Low Sold: 4
Low Bought In: 4
Buy In %: 50.00%
Total Low Estimate: $59000
Total Low Sold: $26500

Mid Total Lots: 22
Mid Sold: 11
Mid Bought In: 11
Buy In %: 50.00%
Total Mid Estimate: $50500
Total Mid Sold: $245125

High Total Lots: 2
High Sold: 0
High Bought In: 2
Buy In %: 100.00%
Total High Estimate: $140000
Total High Sold: $0

The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 137, Mike Kelley and Bob Flanagan, More Love Than Can Ever Be Repaid, 1990, estimated at $60000-80000; it did not sell. The top outcome of the sale was lot 207, Pieter Hugo, Jatto with Mainasara, Ogere-Remo, Nigeria, 2007, estimated at $25000-35000; it sold for $43750.

80.00% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were no surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate).

(Lot 203, Alex Prager, Cindy (from the Big Valley series), 2008, estimated at $5000-7000, sold for $10000. Image via Sotheby’s.)

Complete lot by lot results can be found here.

Sotheby’s
1334 York Avenue
New York, NY 10021

Zanele Muholi, Faces and Phases @Yancey Richardson

JTF (just the facts): A total of 29 black and white photographs, framed in white and matted, and hung against white walls in the main gallery space. All of the works are gelatin silver prints, made in 2011 or 2012. The prints are each sized 30×20 and are available in editions of 8. This is the artist’s first solo show in the United States. A monograph of the first part of this body of work was published by Prestel in 2010 (here) and is available from the gallery for $40. (Installation shots at right.)

Comments/Context: Zanele Muholi’s black and white portraits of individuals from the black lesbian and transgender communities in South Africa and neighboring countries are bold and powerful. Hung tightly together in a parade of three quarter poses, her images celebrate a group of people who have seen hardships, been misunderstood or overlooked, and have endured outright persecution. Each photograph brims with simmering intensity and authentic connection, and together they leave a memorable impression.

While close cropped hair and androgynous clothing are common to many of these portraits, the faces reveal emotions and mindsets that cover a wide spectrum. Some sitters have a steely swagger, full of confidence, measuring the viewer in the event of a confrontation. Other subjects are more guarded and wary, with arms folded, waiting for the all too common judgment with reserve and trepidation. And still others radiate quiet curiosity and warmth, genuinely open and welcoming. Muholi has found the strength and beauty in every single sitter, engaging each one with directness and honesty.

Compositionally, Muholi has been careful with pattern and tonality, using contrasts of skin tone and background to create visual interest. Details like a razor blade necklace, a sweep of hair, or a bow tie help provide clues to personalities, while whitewashed cinder blocks and dress motifs add surrounding context. But in the end, it is the parade of unrelenting faces that gathers your gaze. Again and again, she presents the eyes of engaging individuals, respectfully allowing us to look right into their hopes and sorrows. It’s photographic portraiture done with consistently exceptional grace and humility, a bravura performance of attention and observation.

Collector’s POV: The prints in this show are priced at $4200 each. Muholi’s work has not yet reached the secondary markets, so gallery retail remains the best/only option for those collectors interested in following up.

Valérie Belin @Edwynn Houk

JTF (just the facts): A total of 8 black and white photographs, framed in white and unmatted, and hung in the main gallery space. 6 of the works on view are large scale pigment prints, sized 82×62 or 73×55 and available in editions of 3. The other 2 works are smaller gelatin silver prints, sized 5×7 and available in editions of 5. All of the works were made in 2012. (Installation shots at right.)

Comments/Context: Edwynn Houk has recently taken on representation of Valérie Belin and this show offers a small sampler of her most recent work. In the past few years, Belin’s photography has taken on a consistent look and feel, settling into the dark middle tones of grey and black and sandwiching negatives together into dense, layered compositions. Her new pictures resist easy recognition and force closer inspection to unpack their rich, tactile mysteries.

The most successful images in this show are Belin’s conflicted images of brides. Her images mix classic studio portraits of brides with princess tiaras and elaborate floral bouquets with storefront shots of adult DVD stores and sex shops covered in shouting neon. The effect is something akin to Robert Heinecken’s magazine interventions, but with the harshness softened into something more inscrutable. Belin uses the same approach in a series of nudes, with a curvy burlesque performer juxtaposed with an array of backstage TV studio gear (including a flashing APPLAUSE sign) or the furniture of a stylish 70’s living room. The final pair of images on display dive down the rabbit hole of cluttered, overstuffed, hoarder-style interiors, with walls and shelves filled to the breaking point with collected stuff. Belin’s dark palette gives these intimate reflections of personality an ominous tint.

If Belin’s multiple negative works had been printed smaller, they might have had a Surreal feel, but at such large scale, they become almost abstract, the interlocking images breaking down into fragments and snippets of something identifiable. The layered images fight with each other, struggling for visual dominance, pushing the viewer’s ultimate conclusion back and forth between opposing poles. In the end, it’s an uneasy balance, the images settling into intermingled uncertainty.

Collector’s POV: The works in this show are priced as follows. The large pigment prints are $32000 each and the smaller gelatin silver prints are $7500 each. Belin’s work has only been intermittently available in the secondary markets in the past few years, with prices ranging from roughly $5000 to $15000.

Armory Week Art Fair Roundup

In case you missed the various fair summaries that have piled up in the past week, here’s a complete run down of the fairs I worked my way through and the accompanying reports on the photography to be found there.

Photography in the 2013 ADAA Art Show (here)

Photography in the 2013 Armory Show Part 1 (here) and Part 2 (here)

Photography in the 2013 Independent (here)

Photography in the 2013 SCOPE Art Show (here)

Photography in the 2013 SCOPE Art Show

The 2013 version of the SCOPE Art Show had a very different feel than any of the other fairs I attended this year. It was loose, emerging, and largely informal, with hardly any photographic work that was recognizable to me. Separating the wheat from the chaff took more effort, as there was plenty to see but much of it not particularly noteworthy. It felt less like a place where I might discover the next big thing in photography and more like a melting pot of some of the new ideas and approaches that are percolating around in the fringes.

The booths/galleries are arranged below by my winding path through the fair. For each booth, a list of photographers has been provided (assuming there were wall labels/pencil marks to identify them, which there weren’t in many cases), with the number of works on display in parentheses. Additional commentary, prices, and pictures of the installation are also included as appropriate.

STANDING PINE – cube (here): Youki Hirakawa (4, 4 video screens). Multiple exposures transform a fallen candle into a bulbous morphing light abstraction ($1300).

Galerie Van Der Planken (here): Helle Jetzig (3)

Waterhouse & Dodd (here): Jean-Francois Rauzier (2), Miru Kim (1)

Unix Fine Art (here): Zhang Peng (1)

Artepuy (here): Luis Brito (3)

Krause Gallery (here): Noah Scalin (2)

Alida Anderson Art Projects (here): Dulce Pinzon (4)

FitzRoy Knox (here): Christine Flynn (4)

Gallery G-77 (here): Hiroko Tsuchida (3)

Patrajdas Contemporary (here): Koh Sang Woo (4)

Mark Hatchem Gallery (here): Cheryl Maeder (2)

Parlor Gallery (here): Ellen Stagg (3, 1 set of 3). Nudes aren’t usually chaotic, but this frieze-like interleaved multiple image certainly is. There is a visual connection to Robert Heinecken here somewhere.

C. Grimaldis Gallery (here): Christopher Saah (3), Bernd Radtke (5)

Center Space Gallery (here): Alex Guofeng Cao (12)

Witzenhausen Gallery (here): Hendrik Kerstens (2), Jeff Robb (5). I’m still trying to get my head around lenticular photography and how it can be best employed without turning into a gimmick. This Robb nude is a lenticular image ($3800), so it subtly turns and blurs as you move around it.

Evan Lurie Gallery (here): Nick Veasey (2), Tom Leighton (1), Jason Par Bennett (2)

Gagliardi Art System (here): Ralf Kaspers (1). Massive scale makes the people in this huge wave seem like ants, but crisp large format craftsmanship allows each one to be entirely legible ($60000). This image is reminiscent of a entire category of big work we have seen before, but nevertheless it’s still quite engrossing.

Québec Focus (AGAC) (here): Yann Pocreau (1)

Hardcore Art Contemporary Space (here): Gaston Ugalde (3), Consuela Castañeda (5)

White Room Art System (here): Umberto Ciceri (15). Another artist working with lenticular prints, this time in bold, colorful abstractions ($18000 each). These striated, plaid squares shift and shimmer with futuristic intensity.

LICHT FELD Gallery (here): Tiffany Trenda (2)

ART LEXÏNG (here): Quentin Shih (3)

Faur Zsófi (here): Bela Doka (2), Arion Gabor Kodasz (2), Anna Fabricius (15), Adam Magyar (3)

Aicon Gallery (here): Yasmin Nayar (1). I like the uncertainty in this constructed/combined image ($6000); it doesn’t reveal itself too quickly and remains open ended.

Chashama (here): Bruce Campbell (1 diptych)

Tinca Art Contemporary (here): Rachel Monosov (6), Yapci Ramos (7)

Masters & Pelavin (here): Jeremy Harris (1)

Untitled Art Projects (here): Clayton Campbell (15), The Citizen X (1), Michelle Elmore (2)

CES Contemporary (here): Stepanka Peterka (1), Yuri Psinakis (1), Jordan Clark (3), Ashkan Honorvar (2 collages)

Platform-A Gallery (here): Kraig Wilson (1)

Golden Thread Gallery (here): Martin Boyle (7)

Art Mûr (here): Rebecca Belmore (1), Nadia Myre (3), Diana Thorneycroft (2)

Muriel Guépin Gallery (here): Matthew Conradt (2). This image was transferred to mylar and then cut into strips and reassembled, leaving out the windows ($7800). Up close, the effect is striped, handcrafted, and jittery, with a nod to Gordon Matta-Clark.

Fred Torres Collaborations (here): Luca Pizzaroni (1), Lainie Dalby (1), Dare Wright (1), Joey Lehman Morris (2), Judith Martin-Razi (1), Brett Beyer (1), Seb Janiak (3)

Allegra LaViola Gallery (here): HuskMitNavn (4)

Photography in the 2013 Independent

This was my first visit to the Independent art fair (it’s been up and running for four years now, so I’m a little late to the party), and I came away generally impressed with the quality of what I saw. In contrast to the normal, seemingly endless warren of white cube booths in a fair, the Independent is more free form, with 49 galleries shoehorned into angled spaces and spread across three floors. This design is mostly a blessing, as it makes the whole fair flow better; the one downside is that I often had the feeling of being not quite sure whose space I was in, especially in the higher traffic zones. Photography-wise, the show tended toward smartly conceptual work rather than big name churn and burn merch.

The booths/galleries are arranged below by my winding path through the fair, roughly moving up and through the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floors of the building starting at the bottom. For each booth, a list of photographers has been provided, with the number of works on display in parentheses. Additional commentary, prices, and pictures of the installation are also included as appropriate.

Murray Guy (here): An-My Lê (9). This booth contained a well-chosen mix of Lê’s older and newer work. This image of long sticks with toy airplanes attached to the ends was particularly elegant ($5000).

Maureen Paley (here): Anne Hardy (1), Wolfgang Tillmans (2), James Welling (1). I never seem to tire of Wolfgang Tillmans abstractions ($16000).

Galerie Jocelyn Wolff (here): Prinz Gholam (6). This artist duo has recreated poses from classical paintings; they’re gracefully reverential and entirely modern at the same time (2200€ each).

The Modern Institute (here): Michael Wilkinson (4)

Office Baroque (here): Leigh Ledare (2), Michel Auder (1 video)

Galerie Meyer Kainer (here): Lucie Stahl (6). The process here is worth understanding: collaged found images/photographs glued onto a trash can, the can then held above a scanner, the entire image then printed and covered with thick transparent resin (7500€ each).

Andrew Kreps Gallery (here): Annette Kelm (4, 1 triptych). A simple, conceptual still life of iterations of folded bandanas, executed crispy and cleanly (8500€ each).

Real Fine Arts (here): Heji Shin (3)

Richard Telles Fine Art (here): Dan Finsel (2)

Galerie Christian Nagel (here): Clegg & Guttman (2)

White Columns (here): Michele Abeles (1), Marc Hundley (1), Type 42 Anonymous (1). Look at all those red dots! This black and white Abeles image in an edition of 50 was sold out by the time I arrived ($150). No wonder; it’s wonderfully dense and interlocked.

Herald Street (here): Josh Brand (2). These recent images by Brand have become increasingly hard to parse. Fragments of imagery and improvisational darkroom processes meld together in moody, textural abstraction ($4000).

Printed Matter (here): Erica Baum (2). Baum is represented by Bureau (here), but these two prints were on a Printed Matter wall, as part of a fund raiser I believe. The scalloped gradation of newspaper edges was richly tactile ($2500).

Galerie Susanne Zander (here): Thomas Glendenning Hamilton (5)

Jack Hanely Gallery (here): Jessica Rath (3)

Galerija Gregor Podnar (here): Alexander Gutke (3, 1 slideshow of 81 images). I thought this was a very well-executed but quietly straightforward conceptual project. Starting with soft light on a white wall (morning blue or afternoon orange), the image has been rephotographed and layered multiple times, slowly intensifying the color and creating the Albers-like effect ($7800 each).

KOW (here): Tobias Zielony (5). These images were drawn from Zielony’s larger project on the lives of young Berlin prostitutes. They’re intimate without being exploitative ($8200 or $12000 based on size).

Photography in the 2013 Armory Show, Part 2 of 2

Part 1 of this two part post can be found here. Start there for background and a general explanation of the format of the summary. This portion of my notes covers the shorter area on the left of Pier 94 and all of Pier 92.

Lisson Gallery (here): Gerard Byrne (1), Cory Arcangel (2)

Max Wigram Gallery (here): Jose Dávila (1 set of 53, 1), Slater Bradley (1). Dávila is another artist playing with the properties of the cut photograph. In this work, he has taken pictures of famous sculpture from around the world and then excised the artworks, leaving white outlines and blobs which are surprisingly recognizable (entire set $65000).

The surrounding area in the Bradley nude below is entirely covered in black marker, making a slightly striated and entirely opaque background ($40000).

i8 (here): Roni Horn (1 set 5), Orri Jonsson (3)

Galleri Bo Bjerggaard (here): Per Bak Jensen (1)

Loock Galerie (here): Holly Zausner (3 multi-image arrays)

Marlborough Chelsea (here): Rashaad Newsome (4 collages)

Yancey Richardson Gallery (here): Alex Prager (2), Zanele Muholi (5), Victoria Sambunaris (1), Sharon Core (1), Andrew Moore (1), Olivio Barbieri (2), Rachel Perry Welty (1)

Galleri Brandstrup (here): Ola Kolehmainen (2)

Paradise Row (here): Adam Bloomberg and Oliver Chanarin (1), Douglas White (1), Jane and Louise Wilson (1)

Rotwand Gallery (here): Klaus Lutz (5)

CLEARING (here): Ryan Foerster (9)

Rokeby Gallery (here): Matthew Sawyer (8)

Winkleman Gallery (here): Shane Hope (2). While most of the works in this booth were made using 3D printing, there were two quasi-photographic works on view: the one below (a digital print, $18000) and another, which was a holographic/lenticular print. The density of collaged digital imagery in this work is truly astounding, with layer upon layer of structural elements, exploded genomes, and other scientific models.

Victoria Miro (here): Isaac Julien (1), Idris Khan (1)

Sean Kelly Gallery (here): Frank Thiel (1), Alec Soth (2), Idris Khan (1), James Casebere (1). This is a new work by Casebere, with a falling table top house and a wildfire ($50000).

Galerie Rodolphe Janssen (here): Adam McEwen (2), Justin Liberman (1)

Galerie Nathalie Obadia (here): Andres Serrano (2), Youssef Nabil (2), Lorna Simpson (9)

Michael Kohn Gallery (here): Simmons & Burke (1)

Henrique Faria Fine Art (here): Alexandra Apostol (1)

Rena Bransten Gallery (here): Vik Muniz (2)

Other Criteria (here): Mat Collinshaw (3), Damien Hirst (1)

Parkett (here): Liu Xiaodong (1), Zoe Leonard (1), Yto Barrada (2), Tracey Emin (1)

Mike Karstens (here): Thomas Wrede (1), Gerhard Richter (2)

Mixografia (here): John Baldessari (1 set of 6)

Crown Point Press (here): Darren Almond (6)

Durham Press (here): Mickalene Thomas (1)

Bitforms Gallery (here): Rafael Lozano-Hemmer (2). These works were massive arrays of high definition scans of fingertips (taken from financial services employees), each rectangle its own individual set of whorls and lines ($37000).

Derek Eller Gallery (here): Thomas Barrow (1)

Galerie Forsblom (here): Ola Kolehmainen (1)

Galerie Daniel Templon (here): David LaChapelle (1), James Casebere (1)

Blain Southern (here): Wim Wenders (1)

Galerie Eva Presenhuber (here): Martin Boyece (1), Matias Faldbacken (2)

HackelBury Fine Art (here): William Klein (6), Mike & Doug Starn (3), Pascal Kern (4), Garry Fabian Miller (4), Bill Armstrong (3)

Wetterling Gallery (here): Mike & Doug Starn, Nathalia Edenmont (3), Pinar Yolaçan (2). I thought these works by Yolaçan were very smart. She’s taken fleshy nudes and covered the skin with some kind of textured lotion. With the heads cropped out and the bodies posed against colored backgrounds, they turn into stone fertility idols ($7500).

Galerie Michael Schultz (here): Andres Serrano (3), Vik Muniz (1)

Mireille Mosler Ltd. (here): Fischli/Weiss (1), Richard Prince (1). Pretty hard to beat this fabulous Fischli/Weiss shoe sculpture ($75000).

David Klein Gallery (here): Trisha Holt (2)

Alan Koppel Gallery (here): Garry Winogrand (2), Hiroshi Sugimoto (3), Patrick Faigenbaum (1)

Forum Gallery (here): Davis Cone (1)

Robert Klein Gallery (here): Irving Penn (10), Bill Jacobsen (2), Francesca Woodman (4), Richard Avedon (1), Leonce Raphael Agbodjelou (3), Imogen Cunningham (1), Edward Weston (1), Alfred Stieglitz (1). Lots of vintage treasures in this booth, including a wall of bold Irving Penn fashion portraits. While there were other more famous Penn images on view, I enjoyed this one the most, with its tower of hair and its flared collar ($45000).

Fleisher/Ollman Gallery (here): Eugene Von Bruenchenhein (5)

Senior & Shopmaker Gallery (here): Robert Rauschenberg (1 collage of 4)

Marc Selwyn Fine Art (here): Rodney Graham (1), Irving Penn (1), Richard Misrach (1)

Chowaiki and Co. (here): Vik Muniz (2), Man Ray (1)

Galleria Repetto (here): Hiroshi Sugimoto (2)

Galerie Thomas (here): Marc Quinn (4)

Vivian Horan Fine Art (here): Almagul Menilbayeva (2)

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