Marcel Duchamp
L.H.O.O.Q., 1919/1964
reproduction of the Mona Lisa
paper: 11 7/8 x 9 1/16 inches (30.2 x 23 cm)
framed: 18 3/4 x 14 7/8 inches (47.6 x 37.8 cm)
edition of 35
MD-12.3
Sean Kelly is delighted to participate in Art Basel 2017, where we will present After Painting. Our carefully curated presentation conjoins two important, historical works by Marcel Duchamp and Joseph Kosuth, which independently marked a sea change in the development of art and painting as a medium. In 1964 Duchamp reproduced his iconic 1919 work L.H.O.O.Q., which signified a symbolic, radical break with the past. Shortly thereafter Kosuth created his iconic Definition works, including ‘Titled (Art as Idea as Idea)’ [medium] - [Webster New Pract.], 1968, and declared painting to be dead. For Kosuth, it was Duchamp that initiated the shift in art from appearance to conception, writing that, “The function of art, as a question, was first raised by Marcel Duchamp. In fact, it is Marcel Duchamp whom we can credit with giving art its own identity.”
Ironically, decades’ later, painting continues to thrive through constant reinterpretation and reinvention. After Painting looks at the myriad ways in which artists continue to push the conceptual and aesthetic boundaries of the medium, keeping it vibrant and vital. David Claerbout’s paintings on paper are fundamental to his film practice; Ilse D’Hollander’s intimate canvases are sensual explorations of the physical act of painting; Jose Dávila interrogates how the modernist movement has been translated, appropriated, and reinvented; Laurent Grasso’s meticulous appropriations of classical paintings integrate impossible phenomena, blurring the line between the historical and contemporary; Rebecca Horn’s large-scale gestural paintings evoke her early performance work, their dimensions being determined by the artist’s physical reach; Callum Innes’ Exposed Paintings are concerned with both making and unmaking the work; Idris Khan utilizes language, melding thousands of lines of stamped text into singular abstract images; Hugo McCloud’s work fuses industrial and fine art materials; Sam Moyer combines found textures into a fresh, expanded, artistic palette; and James White’s oil paintings reimagine the still life as a chance freeze-frame.
For more information on the fair, including opening hours, directions and ticketing information, please visit artbasel.com