At this year’s edition of FIAC, White Cube presents works by David Altmejd, Georg Baselitz, Theaster Gates, Mona Hatoum, Damien Hirst, Imi Knoebel, Jannis Kounellis, Ibrahim Mahama and Magnus Plessen.
Highlights from the booth include:
Georg Baselitz’s painting Das Hemd ist nicht gelb (2012), a double portrait in which two figures, a man and woman, are shown on a dark background with contrasting yellow and blue garments. The work draws inspiration from Otto Dix’s portrait Die Eltern des Künstlers II (Portrait of the Artist’s Parents II) (1924), which depicts Dix’s mother and father sitting on a sofa with their hands resting on their knees. Baselitz has returned to this portrait by Dix throughout his career, often portraying himself and his wife Elke.
Realm (2019) by Damien Hirst, a butterfly painting from his new ‘Mandalas’ series currently on show at White Cube Mason’s Yard. The new series takes inspiration from the ‘mandala’, a symbolic representation of the universe that can be used as a meditative instrument. Iridescent and delicate butterfly wings are laid onto canvas and held in place by a richly coloured surface of gloss paint. Arranged concentrically, the whole serves to create a rhythmic and mesmeric pattern that draws the viewer in.
Magnus Plessen’s (b. 1967, Hamburg, Germany) painting Untitled (Fig 9) (2019), which is part of a new body of work exploring the dynamics of love and human relations. Whilst his recent series ‘1914 - 1918’ explored how to armour and repair the body before and after combat, these paintings investigate positive psychic forces: love, faith and hope.
New York-based sculptor David Altmejd’s (b. 1974, Montreal, Canada) quartz-encrusted bust Untitled (2019). Alluding to the tradition of animal head trophies, the wall-mounted sculpture presents a vision of metamorphosis and intrinsic energy.
Theaster Gates’s (b. 1973, Chicago) White Painting #2 (2019). Made using tar, white enamel paint and roofing materials, the work is part of a new series combining elements of the artist’s personal history with his long-standing interest in Japanese aesthetics. Gates’s major solo exhibition ‘Amalgam’, which was presented at Palais de Tokyo earlier this year, tours to Tate Liverpool from 13 December 2019. In London, the exhibition ‘Black Image Corporation’ continues at 180 Strand until 27 October 2019.
