Gagosian’s Latest Collaboration with Jeffrey Deitch Opens in Miami Beach
By Elizabeth Gillett
Gagosian’s latest exhibition, curated in collaboration with Jeffrey Deitch, opened yesterday. The collection of galleries, established by Larry Gagosian in 1980, has 19 exhibition spaces spanning North America, Europe, and Asia and is considered the largest art dealer in the world. Deitch, a curator, art dealer, and former director of the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles has collaborated on seven exhibitions with the mega-gallery thus far. Titled Forms, the exhibition will take place in Miami’s Design District alongside famed art fair, Art Basel: Miami Beach.
Although modern and contemporary art is often labelled as either figuration or abstraction, this thematic group exhibition features works which “exist somewhere between a nonrepresentational formalism and a realism of forms.” From blue-chip artists including Ai Weiwei and Peter Halley to BIPOC and feminist artists such as Stanley Whitney and Judy Chicago, this show, which features 28 artists in all, is incredibly diverse in style, yet united under one common theme.
Giuseppe Penone, Impronte di Luce, 2023, oil on canvas, 183 x 183 cm. Photo: Ruggero Penone. Courtesy the studio and Gagosian
Giuseppe Penone’s 2023 oil on canvas work, Impronte di Luce, utilises a hand imprinting technique, taking the viewer back to the initial spark of creativity in the artist’s studio. The viewer is reminded of the making process of the piece rather than just the finished product. This work, made of geometric shapes created by Penone’s hands translated from ink on paper to an oil painting, invites the viewer to think about the intimacy of producing and shaping a simple medium into form.
Albert Oehlen, Ömega Man 2, 2021, oil and lacquer on canvas, 160 x 240 cm. Photo: Stefan Rohner. Courtesy Gagosian
German artist Albert Oehlen’s Ömega Man series expresses the “simplified humanoid form” of the protagonist of the 1971 film The Omega Man. The depicted character, Dr Robert Neville, a scientist who has recently survived a global pandemic, is shown as an abstracted figure against a stark background. The use of the murky, chaotic colour palette which then juxtaposes the vibrant yellow background symbolises the “runaway of scientific development that precipitates human demise.”
Finally, Stanley Whitney, a Philadelphia native now based between Bridgehampton, New York, and Parma, Italy, recalls the geometric styles of Mark Rothko and Piet Mondrian to inspire his brightly coloured, wobbly geometric works. Whitney (74), who only recently gained attention in the art world and joined Gagosian just last year, utilises a uniform approach with each new canvas. Always starting from the top of the work and moving downward, Whitney states that his works are created through a “call and response” in which “one colour calls forth another.” In this sense “colour dictates the structure” rather than the more traditional manner of forms bringing about colour.
Forms begins with an opening reception on 5th December and will remain open until 10th December 2023. Although less than a weeklong, the exhibition, curated by two household names and featuring world renowned artists, will not be one to miss.
Full List of Featured Artists:
Ai Weiwei, Tauba Auerbach, Ashley Bickerton, Carol Bove, Sascha Braunig, John Chamberlain, Judy Chicago, Bita Fayyazi, Urs Fischer, Theaster Gates, Piero Golia, Peter Halley, Lauren Halsey, Madeline Hollander, Devin Johnson, Josh Kline, Li Shurui, Adam McEwen, Peter Nagy, Albert Oehlen, Ariana Papademetropoulos, Steven Parrino, Giuseppe Penone, Brian Rochefort, Alexandria Smith, Philip Taaffe, Nari Ward, and Stanley Whitney.
Full Exhibition Details:
Presented by Gagosian and Jeffrey Deitch
Opening reception: Tuesday, December 5, 5–8pm
December 5–10, 2023
Hours: Tuesday: 5–8pm, Wednesday–Saturday: 10am–8pm, Sunday: 10am–6pm Miami Design District, 35 NE 40th Street, Miami
Bibliography
Gagosian. “Exhibition: Forms”. Accessed 5 December 2023.
https://gagosian.com/news/2023/11/22/forms-deitch-miami/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social
Gagosian. “Stanley Whitney.” Accessed 5 December 2023.
https://gagosian.com/artists/stanley-whitney/
Rain Magazine. “FORMS Unveiled: Gagosian and Deitch Redefine Artistic Boundaries at Art Basel
Miami Beach,” 24 November 2023. Accessed 5 December 2023. https://rain-mag.com/forms-unveiled-gagosian-and-deitch-redefine-artistic-boundaries-at-art-basel-miami-beach/