Category: FAIRS
FAIRS
Grapes Lost and Found
In a recent conversation I had with Billy Al Bengston, he quoted his racing buddy: “If it only costs money, it’s cheap.” Being an avid collector myself (although not of Contemporary Art) my interpretation of his words is: It can take a lot of effort, time and money to track down a specific object. Sometimes it can take years and money can’t help.
We had an exhibition of large Lüpertz paintings from 1967-70 at Art Basel in 2005. The paintings were huge. The show looked stunning and was a great success. The painting “Weintrauben” did not find a place in the show of tree trunks, telegraph poles and tunnels and remained upstairs in storage to return with the other works to Germany after the fair. But it never arrived. We only realised it had gone missing about a year later when a loan request for the work came and we couldn’t locate it.
Now 15 years later a friend sends me this cryptic text message: “Dear Daniel, tell me, are you missing a grape painting? I hope you are well. Best wishes…”
It turns out that the crate with our label still on it mysteriously turned up in a private furniture warehouse in Munich. The owner of that warehouse is a friend of our friend. I thought “Great! The grapes are back.” But then the finder emailed: “How can I be sure you are the owner? I think I’d better go to the police.” Days of silence followed. The painting had vanished again. Then somebody within the city’s Lost and Found department called up. He had been referred to us by the Lenbachhaus, and wondered if we dealt in Lüpertz? “There is this painting someone found…”
I am sure that many of the artworks we enjoy today would have fascinating stories to tell, if only they could speak to us in words as well as with their beauty. I thought this lucky moment merited a presentation on the theme of flora and colour.
Karl-Heinz Schwind was our first exhibition when we opened some 30 years ago. His works are pure energy.
Eugène Leroy, who sometimes worked for several years on a painting before considering it finished, Don van Vliet, cult musician and painter and Billy Al Bengston, known for his tropical themes and vivid colors, are well known and do not need my introduction.
David Byrd is neither “Insider” nor “Outsider”. Having studied art after WWII under Amédée Ozenfant he only developed his mature style and produced his most defining body of work after he started working as an orderly at a hospital psychiatric ward, from 1958-88.
His paintings defy any of the “Isms” we usually like to apply to art we see; they stand apart from Pop, Realism or Expressionism. If anything I would refer to his work as New York Surrealism. Byrd’s works have an airy and somewhat evanescent quality, as if viewed through a milky glass.
Guerle and Nény were true self-taught artists who remained more or less in obscurity but whose visual languages are equally inspiring and distinctive as the better-known artists in our exhibition. They only came to my attention through writers like Hans Prinzhorn or Dr. Jean Lacassagne, who were interested in and propagated the artistic output of mentally insane or criminal individuals. Prinzhorn’s Bildnerei der Geisteskranken (Berlin 1922) and Albums du Crocodile by Lacassagne (Lyon 1939) have been rare sources of information on these fascinating artists.
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Foreverglades by Sofia Valiente
Daniel Blau is thrilled to present Foreverglades – a major new project by interdisciplinary artist Sofia Valiente. The exhibition brings stories of the Glades and Florida’s pioneer history to new light through a series of contemporary photographs displayed inside a 41-foot replica of a steamboat and published in a unique photo book.
Valiente’s artistic work is driven and distinguished by lengthy periods of rigorous field research that involve her living within the communities she photographs. Foreverglades has emerged from a period of five years of personal experience and research in the Glades.
We are delighted to bring Foreverglades to local and international audiences in New York, where it will be on view on Pier 94 during Paris Photo NY.
The book is available through Sofia Valientes website. Click here
Fair Dates:
Paris Photo New York
Pier 94
711 12th Ave, New York City,
NY 10019
(car access from 55th St /12th Ave)
Paris Photo New York officially postponed
A new date will be announced as soon as possible
“Foreverglades. Swamp to Sugar Bowl:Pioneer Days in Belle Glade”
Andy Warhol – 1950s works on paper
January 24 – February 2, 2020
Daniel Blau is pleased to present a group exhibition of works on paper by renowned modern and contemporary artists Georg Baselitz (*1938), Anselm Kiefer (*1945), Sigmar Polke (1941-2010) and Andy Warhol (1928-1987).
Open Daily 12 – 8 pm
Sundays & Thursday 12 – 6 pm
Tuesday 12 – 4:30 pm
Booth D7
Park Avenue Armory
Park Avenue at 67th Street
New York City
OPENING NIGHT PARTY
Thursday, January 23, 2020, 5 – 9 pm
YOUNG COLLECTORS NIGHT
Thursday, January 30, 2020, 6 – 9 pm
CONNOISSEURS NIGHT
Friday, January 31, 2020, 5:30 – 8 pm
Visit Website: The Winter Show
The Winter Show is the leading art, antiques, and design fair in America, featuring 72 of the world’s top experts in the fine and decorative arts.
Held at the historic Park Avenue Armory in New York City, the fair highlights a dynamic mix of works dating from ancient times through the present day and maintains the highest standards of quality in the art market. Each object at the fair is vetted for authenticity, date, and condition by a committee of 150 experts from the United States and Europe.
illustration: © 2019 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Wellenreiter ▪ Le Gray ▪ Andy Warhol
Wellenreiter
A photograph is the result of an interplay between physical and chemical processes and the subject in front of the camera. The technical challenges posed by space photography are
particularly obvious in these early astronomical pictures.
Some of the most magical and esoteric photographs have been created as by-products of 20th Century scientific space missions. At Paris Photo 2019 we are pleased to present a selection of these pictures, many of which are the visual manifestation of historic events.
Rapid technological advances in the 1920s paved the way for electronic transmission of images by cable and radio. In 1946 an adapted German V2 rocket took off from White Sands, New Mexico, taking photographs of Earth at a record-breaking altitude of 65 miles above the ground. These were the first images of our planet to be taken from space. A 48 page catalogue with 35 images is published on this occasion.
Gustave Le Gray
We will also show works by Gustave Le Gray (August 30, 1820 – July 30, 1884) – the most important French photographer of the nineteenth century. Le Gray promoted and helped to establish photography as a means of artistic expression, thus differentiating it from the scientific approach and placing it next to painting.
Le Gray is also known for his role as the teacher of other noted photographers such as Maxie Du Camp and Olympe Aguado, and for the extraordinary imagination he brought to picture making.
Our show includes a newly discovered panorama taken in Egypt and some of Le Gray’s early photographs dating from 1849 to 1952 with scenes of nature at Fontainebleau Forest. The exhibition will also present a selection of his most renowned photographs taken while he was hired for the Missions Héliographiques to document French monuments and buildings. Le Gray’s photographs are not just technical masterpieces but also visionary works of art.
Andy Warhol
In addition to our displays of space pictures and works by Le Gray, we present an exhibition of Andy Warhol’s evocative line drawings, focusing on works inspired by photographs he found in LIFE magazine.
These distinctive drawings, many of which are studies of the human form, are executed in ink and pencil on paper. They reference the evolving magazine industry that fascinated Warhol and are situated firmly within the cultural era of the moment. Daniel Blau’s discovery of the original source materials used by Warhol gives insight into the early career of one of the 20th century’s most influential artists.
1950-2000
50 Years of Post-War Works on Paper
Vernissage (by invitation only)
Wednesday, June 12, 2019, 11am to 8pm
Public days
June 13-16, 2019, 11 am to 7pm
Booth F8
Daniel Blau is pleased to present a group exhibition of large-format works on paper by renowned international artists including Andy Warhol (1928-1987), Antonius Höckelmann (1937-2000), Georg Baselitz (*1938), Arnulf Rainer (*1929), Emilio Vedova (1919-2006) and ar. Penck (1939-2017).
In a series of bold 1980s works on paper by Penck the influences of the artist’s parallel practices as a sculptor and jazz drummer are palpable. These gestural works are characterised by rhythm and spatial awareness. These striking monochromes are complemented by a selection of earlier, color, almost abstract pieces from the 1970s – in black, red and blue gouache and wax crayon, perhaps coincidentally the colors of German electric cabling.
The human form and portraiture are the primary subjects of Andy Warhol’s line drawings from the 1950s, discovered in the artist’s estate. Warhol found inspiration in the pages of publications such as LIFE magazine, and many of his drawings reference photographs and graphic advertisements of the time. We are showing a selection of individual drawings of men, women and children.
Other exhibition highlights include works on paper by Arnulf Rainer and Emilio Vedova and ‘Orgie 1’ (1967-60) a large-scale charcoal and pencil work on paper by Antonius Höckelmann, who trained as a wood sculptor in the 1950s and whose mixed media works often combine sculpture and painting.
There is an appealing immediacy to these energetic and unpolished pieces, qualities that are also visible in in two towering oil paintings on canvas by American artist and musician Don Van Vliet – aka Captain Beefheart. His painting ‘Archaic Faces Frenzy’ (1986) depicts elongated figures set against a vivid background.
The post-WWI period is represented by a small group of nudes and erotic pencil drawings by George Grosz.
Public Opening:
Thursday, November 8, 2018, 12 am to 8 pm
Friday, November 9, 2018, 12 am to 8 pm
Saturday, November 10, 2018, 12 am to 8 pm
Sunday, November 11, 2018, 12 am to 7 pm
Our presentation at Paris Photo 2018 will consist of three special exhibitions.
We are delighted to present a group of Emile Zola’s portraits of his son Jacques. These beautiful prints, recently acquired from his grandson’s estate, will be shown in public for the first time. Zola’s photographs demonstrate a remarkable technical ability as well as a sensitivity to the character and mood of his subjects. The same attention to detail evident in his novels is visible in Zola’s portraits of his son, which were taken around the time of the famous Dreyfus Affair at the end of the 19th century.
A small catalogue featuring texts by Carrie Foulkes and Lindsey Stewart is being published to accompany this presentation.
Rather than thinking of Zola as a novelist who took pictures, we may instead come to view him as an artist who both wrote and made photographs.
We will show a selection of pictures focussing on outstanding female photographers such as the pioneering photojournalist Margaret Bourke‑White. These works will be complemented by portraits of larger‑than-life women such as: Frida Kahlo, Gertrude Stein and
Carrie Nation alongside other famous or infamous women.
Visitors familiar with our programme will be pleased to find a vintage group of impressive copy prints of 1946 atomic tests (Bikini Atoll). This process of making enlargements from pictures taken of pictures here enhances the defects of the earlier prints and imbues these large prints with a sense of urgency and magnetism. We will also show newly‑discovered colour pictures (dye transfer and Ansco film) of 1950s tests and crisp Apollo mission photos on the 50th anniversary of the first crewed mission (Apollo 7, 1968).
June 14, 2018 — June 17, 2018
Messe Basel
For every Art enthusiast Art Basel is undoubtedly the highlight of the year.
It is becoming more and more difficult for art dealers to find good artworks outside of the many public collections and to convince collectors, estates or artists to part with them.
We are therefore delighted to be able to present a cabinet exhibition around the theme of “Portrait”. True to our specialisaton in works on paper, an exquisite group of Warhol drawings from the 1950s will completement a selection of 1970-80s works by Baselitz, Immendorff and Penck …
Penck was interested in portraiture as early as the 1960s when his friends and family became his subjects. We will show his 1974 painting of Johannes Gachnang, former director of the famous Kunsthalle in Bern and later publisher of many art books and catalogues raisonnés. He was a close friend and early supporter of Penck, giving him his first international museum exhibition at Kunsthalle Bern in 1975. This painting has never before been exhibited in public. This painting has been kept in a private collection since the 70s.
The painting “Fahne” (1980) by Jörg Immendorff reflects a similarly intense and friendly connection with Gachnang, since also Immendorff had his first international exhibition in Bern.
Another of our highlights is the complete sketch-pad (book) of portrait drawings made by Warhol in 1955, presumably at the “Serendipity Café” where he would meet with friends for drawing sessions. Only very few sketch‑pads survived intact, as Andy and later his estate would give or sell individual sheets from these pads. Here, in the “House of Hearts” we meet his friends face‑to‑face or even “au naturel” in Andy’s fresh and fluid ink drawings.
May 4, 2018 — May 6, 2018
Booth F2 – Randall’s Island Park, NY 10035
More than 30 years after his death in 1987, Andy Warhol
remains one of the best-known and most influential figures in
contemporary art and culture. His paintings have become iconic,
his personality has attained cult status, his films are legendary,
and his forecast that in the future everyone would be famous
for fifteen minutes is our quotidian reality.
Continue reading “Frieze New York 2018”
November 8, 2017 — November 12, 2017
Grand Palais
At Paris Photo 2017 we are pleased to present two exhibitions on the subject of Photojournalism.
Augenblicke (In Just That Moment) shows iconic pictures of some of the decisive moments in 20th century history. Some of our highlights are:
1910, Aug. 9: William Warnecke took what is the first widely published snap‑shot news photo when he witnessed the assassination attempt on Mayor Gaynor.
1924, May 19: AT&T sent the first “wire photo” by telephone from Cleveland to New York “in five minutes!”. This print was possibly processed by Weegee.
1928, Jan. 12: The infamous photo taken with a hidden camera by Tom Howard of Ruth Snyder’s execution at Sing Sing Prison.
1929, Feb.14: A print of the gruesome picture of Chicago’s bloody “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre”.
1931, Oct. 14: Al Capone is winking at the photographer as he leaves court carrying law books after the first day of his defense. Three days later he is convicted and imprisoned.
1934, Jan. 30: “Bad Man (John) Dillinger” is photographed smiling at Crown Point Jail, arm in arm with Attorney Robert Estill and mimicking a pistol with his hand on his shoulder. Soon after, he escaped from prison using a mock gun carved from a potato.
The second exhibition coincides with the book launch of 1937 Japan Attacks China.
In this show we are pleased to present to the public for the first time, the discovery of photographs taken during the first months of the Second Sino-Japanese war, and the identification of the photos to the photographers Rudolph Brandt and Joy Lacks.
1937 Japan Attacks China discusses how history is based on many subjective chronicles, how memory is simply an interpretation of occurrences. Many of the stories of the Second Sino‑Japanese War have either been lost or remain untold. The photographs in this book document the Battle of Shanghai by two photographers, Rudolph Brandt and Joy Lacks. Both fearless in their own right, Brandt and Lacks covered the Battle of Shanghai which left an estimated 250,000 Chinese civilians dead until the end of 1937.
1937 Japan Attacks China, is our most recent volume in a series of books exploring different themes in photojournalism.
We will show a selection of vintage prints and launch this historically important book at the fair. Further included in this year’s exhibition is a group of rare vintage dye transfer and other color process prints from the 1950s of American nuclear tests and oversized prints from NASA space missions. Especially noteworthy is a group of 1950s colour images. The Specific 1950s colour schemes give those pictures their somewhat nostaligic and “vintage” appearance – so desirable in todays digital age.
All mentioned photographs are vintage prints and will be presented to the public for the first time at Paris Photo 2017.
October 4, 2017 — October 8, 2017
Trophy Heads
Booth D11
Invitation-only Preview: October 4, 2017 11am-8pm
Public Exhibition: October 5 – 8, 2017
Opening Hours: 11am – 7pm
Daniel Blau is pleased to present Trophy Heads, a selection of portraits, and Henri Sauvaire’s pictures of the Dead Sea region at Frieze Masters this year.
A trophy is a souvenir of an achievement or a prize awarded in honour of success. Each collector of art is guided by a unique vision and seeks out his or her own ‘trophies’ – those scarce artworks that bring pleasure, satisfaction and pride and that inspire admiration and even envy in others.
Trophy Heads is an exhibition of exceptional portraits in a range of media, including drawings, paintings and photographs. The gallery is delighted to show Georg Baselitz’ iconic 60s woodcut “Großer Kopf”. Baselitz inked each plate individually, sometimes in several colors resulting in a monotype effect. Our version was printed from three plates and is a real treasure as these prints very rarely come on the market.
Among the many highlights from our exhibition are the famous 1979 Polaroid Self-Portrait by Chuck Close and a portrait of Picasso by Jonas Wood. This is perhaps Wood’s most important painting to date.
We will also show a group of vintage dye transfer prints of American 1950s nuclear tests.
Henri Sauvaire (1831-1896) was an accomplished photographer with extensive knowledge of the Middle East. We will show the only known complete set of 73 loose full margin prints from Sauvaire’s photographic expedition to the Dead Sea.
These were printed by Charles Négre in 1866 from the paper negatives made during one of the most elaborate and costly photographic journeys of the 19th century. Sauvaire’s project was funded by Honoré d’Albert Duc de Luynes (1802 ‑1867), an archaeologist and patron of the arts who was dedicated to scientific and cultural research and publishing. Our set had been treasured by his family to this day.
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