Mapanare.us Constantly.Consuming.Culture.
  • Art
  • Interviews
  • Music
  • Live & Photos
  • Travel & Photos

X Contemporary Hits Wynwood For Miami Art Week 2015-Among Selected Exhibits, "Grace Hartigan 1960 -1965, the Perry Collection"

11/29/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
by Patrick Ogle

X Contemporary (
227-247  NW 24th St. Miami) is an art fair focused on "cross generational" curated projects. One of these will feature the work of Grace Hartigan, an abstract expressionist artist just starting to get her due.  Grace Hartigan 1960 -1965, the Perry Collection isn't the only artist being shown.

"We have three groundbreaking exhibitions that are the keystones of the fair. The Grace Hartigan work being shown by Michael Klein hasn't been seen since 1965. This will also be the first time the Colombian collective, TIMEBAG, will exhibit in the US," says Matthew Eck, director of X Contemporary.  "The third major exhibition at X Contemporary will be Hecho en Cuba, a collection of never before seen work from artists who are living and working in Cuba."

Hartigan's exhibit may, to many, be the most tantalizing.


"Hartigan is an innovator. She started her career as an Abstract Expressionist yet even then she was interested in and explored how to integrate the figure into her abstract works. She slowly evolved over the course of her career away from the Ab Ex school into figurative works that were abstractions," says MIchael Klein, curator of the exhibit. "No different really than many of the Pop artists who started with a signature style but grew, developed and evolved into a larger body of visual ideas. Think of Jasper Johns or Roy Lichtenstein. Only she and de Kooning moved beyond abstraction and explored the figure and landscape as well.”

Picture
Klein says Hartigan's work and vision are larger than any historic style. While she is usually classified as an abstract expressionist, over the length of her career she expanded far beyond that label. He adds that this selection is an outstanding overview of the artist's work between 1960-65 which outlines her abstract expressionist style and how it led to her more figurative work in later years.

"Along with the paintings are seven collages that also demonstrate her talents as an abstract artist when it came to works on paper." says Klein.

These pieces also highlight her friendship and work with her dealer in Washington D.C., Beatrice Perry. This exhibit isn't all art history however. It is something to stir the minds and spur the careers of young artists.

"I think it is important as a role model for artists who might think that innovation has gone out of style and that they must create a formula and stick with it over their entire career." says Klein. "What  is interesting is to read Hartigan's journals and see how clearly she saw what she wanted to do as an artist as well as what she needed to do as an artist."


Picture
Grace Hartigan and Helen Frankenthaler
Eck is the driving force behind the fair and he says he cannot explain clearly why he did put it together the way he did.

"I feel that Miami Art Week is really the pinnacle of the art world calendar -- and I had the opportunity to host my new vision.  X will be releasing our future plans early next year. It will involve traveling-- and that's all I can say," says Eck. "However, we are very happy to be in Wynwood and engaging the community and will be returning here next year."

The fair has a significant number of panels and performances for a boutique fair (and it is an eclectic mix).

"Crystal, our executive producer, put together this wonderful eclectic program. She comes from an Art History and professorial background, so our lineup comes with a strong emphasis on education," says Eck. "We are proud to offer interesting and engaging content for every fair goer. All of our performances and panel discussion  will take place in our Living Room which is inside the fair."

X Contemporary, in addition to the major exhibitions, features 27 exhibitors from South America, Europe and the United States.

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Interviews
    This section is interviews with artists, musicians, writers and anyone else we think is interesting.

    Categories

    All
    Art
    Art Basel 2012 Previews
    Art Basel 2015 Previews
    Art Basel 2016 Previews
    Art Miami
    Art Week Miami 2013
    Art Week Miami 2014 Previews
    Books
    Design
    Films
    Graphic Novels
    Interviews
    Miami Art Week 2017
    Miami Art Week 2018
    Music
    PFAF 2019
    Photography
    Previews
    Superfine!

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    November 2019
    March 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    March 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    May 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    August 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    March 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    August 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    April 2010