Installation Views

Works Exhibited

About

Art is a lie in a certain sense. And that is why it can tell the truth to the reality of everyday life without competing with it. The reality of painting is one reality, the reality of everyday life is another.
—Karin Kneffel

Gagosian Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of recent paintings by Karin Kneffel. This is her first exhibition with the gallery.

Kneffel addresses the threshold between interior and exterior, and real and fictive space through a sophisticated play on reflectivity, opacity and transparency. Seaming together heterogeneous spaces and times in a flawlessly executed, seductively realist manner, she paints pictures that are perfectly constructed impossibilities. Although many of her sources actually exist, her image is first and foremost a surface, highlighting painting’s simultaneous ability to uphold and destroy illusions.

In these mannered pictorial spaces, Kneffel’s superb painting technique moves between materialization and dematerialization. On a quadruple—grounded canvas, she applies up to four layers of oil paint with the finest brush. Like veils, each covers the entire surface. Should she decide to change any element, it has consequences for the entire organization of the image. Her acute handling of rich color, texture, form, and space is resolutely apparent, equal to the visual games and enigmas that pervade Rococo and Mannerist painting, yet firmly rooted, formally and conceptually, within the vernacular information of her own time.

Gagosian Quarterly Fall 2024

Now available
Gagosian Quarterly Fall 2024

The Fall 2024 issue of Gagosian Quarterly is now available, featuring Andy Warhol’s Mao (1972) on the cover.

The Building Blocks: Amanda Williams & Alteronce Gumby

The Building Blocks: Amanda Williams & Alteronce Gumby

Jordan Carter, curator at Dia Art Foundation, sits down with artists Alteronce Gumby and Amanda Williams to discuss the profound significance of color in their work, as well as the intersections between art and architecture.

The Art of Biography: Christopher Isherwood

The Art of Biography: Christopher Isherwood

Katherine Bucknell, previously the editor of a four-volume edition of Christopher Isherwood’s diaries, has now published Christopher Isherwood Inside Out, an intimate and rigorous biography of the celebrated writer and gay cultural icon. Here she meets with Josh Zajdman to discuss the challenges and revelations of the book.

Kyle Abraham

Kyle Abraham

In this interview, we delve into the realm of dance with choreographer Kyle Abraham, who put on a special performance inside the exhibition Social Abstraction in Beverly Hills this past July. Ahead of that event, Cameron Thompkins met with Abraham at New York’s Park Avenue Armory to discuss the relationships between dance, visual art, and abstraction.

Fashion and Art: Grace Coddington

Fashion and Art: Grace Coddington

Grace Coddington, fashion editor and former creative-director-at-large for American Vogue, meets with the Quarterly’s Derek C. Blasberg to reminisce on some of her most iconic collaborations with photographers and artists.

The Bold Stroke: Spencer Sweeney & Lizzi Bougatsos

The Bold Stroke: Spencer Sweeney & Lizzi Bougatsos

Old friends chat about their love of music, nightclub paintings, life lessons from aikido, and Spencer Sweeney’s upcoming exhibition The Painted Bride, at Gagosian, New York.

Devin B. Johnson

Devin B. Johnson

Artist Devin B. Johnson meets with Diallo Simon-Ponte to reflect on the evolution of his practice, the impact of place on the temporal dimensions of his work, and the reemergence of ceramics in his exploration of abstraction and figuration.

The Gospel According to Beauty Supply

The Gospel According to Beauty Supply

Ryuan Johnson, sculptor and creative director, focuses on the works of Allana Clarke and Lauren Halsey to examine the key place of hair in Black culture. Through image and poetry, Johnson reveals the cultural and historical significance of hair as a medium to discuss identity, community, and the politics of representation.

“I Can’t Accept to Act Like a Zombie”: Enzo Mari and Design’s Utopian Impulse

“I Can’t Accept to Act Like a Zombie”: Enzo Mari and Design’s Utopian Impulse

The exhibition Enzo Mari, curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist with Francesca Giacomelli at the Design Museum, London, runs through September 8. Taking a cue from this major retrospective, Bartolomeo Sala delves into Mari’s practice and convictions.

Remembering Brice Marden

Remembering Brice Marden

In conjunction with the memorial service for Brice Marden held at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, Mirabelle and Melia Marden produced a short film directed by Chiara Clemente to honor the late artist. Featuring interviews, archival photographs, and family videos, this film captures Marden’s vibrant life and enduring cultural impact.

Kahlil Robert Irving & Cameron Welch

Kahlil Robert Irving & Cameron Welch

Kahlil Robert Irving and Cameron Welch discuss their approaches to materiality and longevity.

Rick Lowe & Kevin Beasley

Rick Lowe & Kevin Beasley

Rick Lowe and artist Kevin Beasley discuss their engagement with material and place, as well as the social potentials of abstraction.