MODERN MASTERS
Hauser & Wirth is pleased to announce Modern Masters including artists like. Animating dust as a key protagonist in an operatic milieu, Humeau takes this overlooked matter and imbues it with meaning.
June 7 - September 14, 2024
Sculptural highlights include Louise Bourgeois’s ‘Three Horizontals’ (1998) in which three figures, materialized in patches of pink fabric sutured together, lay supine upon structures that resemble operating tables. Exemplary of the artist’s manipulation of the body, Bourgeois dismembers the figures, their resemblance to the human form fading away. Further sculptural works include Hans Arp’s biomorphic ‘Präadamitische Frucht / Fruit préadamite’ (1938/1962) and Alexander Calder’s ‘Snowflake Tree’ (1960).
Barbara Chase-Riboud’s ‘Standing Black Woman of Venice IV, Praxilla (BABA)’ (1969-2020)—taking its name from Praxilla of Sicyon, a Greek lyric poet from the 5th Century BC—comes from a series that memorializes powerful or at times marginalized women in history.
In addition to impressive sculptural works, ‘Modern Masters’ presents historic paintings made in the early- to mid-20th Century, such as ‘Das Jungfraumassiv von Mürren aus’ (1911) by Ferdinand Hodler. Having spent two weeks in Mürren, Switzerland, in July 1911, the artist applied his formal experimentations and unique palette to the alpine vista, producing a stylized view characterized by his distinctive rendering of clouds.
The selection also includes Henry Moore’s work on paper ‘Reclining Figure’ (1933) Mark Rothko’s compelling ‘Composition’ (1959) and important works by Max Bill and Georges Vantongerloo. With approaches stemming from mathematics and modern scientific theories, Bill’s angular oil on canvas ‘Weisses Quadrat durch Elementärfarben ergänzt’ (1962) and Vantongerloo’s geometric painting ‘Fonction noir, rouge’ (1936) offer inquiries into how shape, color and form come together in space.
Later works by modern artists include ‘Untitled’ (1988) by Jean-Michel Basquiat. Painted in the final year of his life, this piece reflects the profound influence that music, culture and history had on his prolific practice.
Agnes Martin’s ‘Untitled #3’ (2002) is testament to her extensive exploration of abstraction and profound contributions to minimalism. Together, the works on view by leading artists, from figuration to abstraction, present touchstones of artistic development and progress within modern art.