Lehmann Maupin returns to Art Basel Miami Beach with a presentation of signature works by Liza Lou, Lari Pittman, Alex Prager, Do Ho Suh, Mandy El-Sayegh, McArthur Binion, Dominic Chambers, Teresita Fernández, Tom Friedman, Nicholas Hlobo, Lee Bul, OSGEMEOS, and Liu Wei. Together, the works on view elucidate conceptual and material parallels that transcend geographic, cultural, and aesthetic boundaries.
Do Ho Suh’s Inverted Monument (2022), made of extruded thermoplastic polyester, advances the artist’s longstanding interest in questioning the language of public monuments, as well as the authority and agency of ‘the artist’s hand’. The work draws on generalized concepts of an “ideal” monument in the lexicon of Western statuary; the multi-limbed figure is modeled on a cross-section of data taken from public sculpture in the UK. Here, Suh turns this idea literally and figuratively on its head – the commemorative figure hangs upside down inside the translucent and traditionally proportioned pedestal itself. Considering what and who we chose to elevate in civic spaces, Inverted Monument lays bare public perceptions of the power structures upheld by such visual traditions.
In conjunction with his concurrent solo exhibition at Museo Jumex in Mexico City, the booth showcases key works by Lari Pittman, including Assembly (2011). The work exemplifies Pittman’s signature, densely-layered painting style, marked by the inclusion of a lexicon of signs and symbols (such as bells, eggs, animals, and ropes), a compilation of varied painting techniques, and a clear homage to traditions of decoration and ornamentation . In Assembly, Pittman reimagines the still life genre; objects and bodies commingle and forms hover between legibility and abstraction. Pictorial space collapses as Pittman’s forms move between figure and ground, resisting perspectival immediacy and warping conventional viewing perceptions.
Liza Lou’s new works extend her exploration of issues of materiality, process, and labor. She intends her oeuvre, which is surveyed in a new self-titled monograph Liza Lou, to induce states of wonder in the viewer. Lou’s recent works address art historical traditions, incorporating materials such as canvas and oil paint and devices like stretcher frames. Rejecting the flatness of the picture plane, she creates a dynamic, dimensional surface, treating beads, thread, and paint as sculptural materials through a process of addition and subtraction. Challenging conventional perceptions around what constitutes fine art; her works inspire wonder in the transformation of the ordinary and mundane.
Coffee Bar (2022), from Alex Prager’s newest body of work, will be shown for the first time at Art Basel Miami Beach. Directly responding to a period of cultural uncertainty and ambivalence, this new body of work urgently examines the collective will to exist and explores opportunities for empathy, participation, and action present both within art and everyday life. Prager creates elaborately staged scenes that draw inspiration from a wide range of influences and references, including Hollywood cinema, experimental films, popular culture, and street photography. Concurrento the fair, Prager’s solo exhibition will be on view in Lehmann Maupin’s Palm Beach gallery through December 11. Prager’s newest film, Run, will screen at Lehmann Maupin New York in January 2023.
Other highlights include a selection of works by Dominic Chambers, including the artist’s first-ever sculptural work and new paintings; a new wall sculpture by Nari Ward, entitled What’s Going On (2022); a new work by Mandy El-Sayegh, whose two-person exhibition with painter Keunmin Lee is currently on view at Lehmann Maupin Seoul; as well as works by McArthur Binion, Lee Bul, Teresita Fernández, Tom Friedman, Nicholas Hlobo, OSGEMEOS, and Liu Wei.
Nearby, Lehmann Maupin’s seasonal gallery in Palm Beach presents a series of exhibitions in a new location in The Royal Poinciana Plaza. The season marks the gallery’s third consecutive year of programming in Palm Beach, beginning with the solo exhibitions of Alex Prager (November 19–December 11) and Helen Pashgian (December 15–January 8) to follow.