Works Exhibited
About
Where the telescope ends the microscope begins, and who can say which has the wider vision?
—Victor Hugo
Gagosian is pleased to present Micro Mania, an exhibition of the miniature in art featuring nearly sixty small masterpieces by a panorama of modern and contemporary artists including Alexander Calder, Joseph Cornell, Marcel Duchamp, Max Ernst, Yves Klein, Jasper Johns, René Magritte, Francis Picabia, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Cecily Brown and Rachel Whiteread.
Accordingly, the Project Space has been transformed into a modern day cabinet de curiosités. A glass vitrine in the center of the gallery contains diminutive sculptures such as Claes Oldenberg’s Pancakes and Sausages (1962), Alexander Calder’s Untitled (Standing Mobile) (1955), Lucio Fontana’s Concetto Spaziale (1959) and Joseph Cornell’s Untitled (1933) which measures less than 3 centimeters in diameter. Among the intimate works that line the walls are Jasper Johns Map (1960), René Magritte’s Schéhérazade (1947), Marcel Duchamp’s Peasant’s Leg (1904–05), and Richard Prince’s Untitled (Fireman Joke) (1987).
These small-scale works seem to belong to a separate, otherworldly realm where the rules of the physical world may no longer hold. With proportions akin to those of a children’s toy, they may function as the starting point to a private narrative and act as an agent for nostalgia and fantasy. Taking inspiration from artist and poet Joe Brainard’s 1975 exhibition Think Tiny, as well as Voltaire’s science-fiction novella Micromegas—which strives to demonstrate that importance is not equitably reduced with size—Micro Mania explores the aesthetic and imaginative qualities unique to the craft of the miniature and creates a dialogue between artists working in very different time periods, mediums and agendas.
Artists included: Carl Andre, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Hans Bellmer, Dike Blair, Cecily Brown, Alexander Calder, Joseph Cornell, Marcel Duchamp, Hubert Duprat, Max Ernst, Hans Peter Feldmann, Urs Fischer, Lucio Fontana, Alberto Giacometti, John Giorno, Piero Golia, Douglas Gordon, Keith Haring, Jasper Johns, Paul Klee, Yves Klein, Franz Kline, René Magritte, Man Ray, Claes Oldenburg, Steven Parrino, Francis Picabia, Pablo Picasso, Richard Prince, Ed Ruscha, Kurt Schwitters, Charles Simonds, Elaine Sturtevant, Blair Thurman, Cy Twombly, Piotr Uklański, Andy Warhol, Tom Wesselmann, Rachel Whiteread
Où finit le télescope, le microscope commence. Lequel des deux a la vue la plus grande?
—Victor Hugo
Gagosian est heureuse de présenter une exposition d’œuvres miniatures intitulée Micro Mania rassemblant près de soixante petits chefs d’œuvre issus d’un panorama d’artistes modernes et contemporains: Alexander Calder, Joseph Cornell, Marcel Duchamp, Max Ernst, Yves Klein, Jasper Johns, René Magritte, Francis Picabia, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Cecily Brown, et Rachel Whiteread.
En conséquence, le Project Space a été transformé en un «cabinet de curiosités», au centre de la galerie une vitrine en verre contient ces toutes petites sculptures Pancakes and Sausages de Claes Oldenburg (1962), Untitled (Standing Mobile) d’Alexander Calder (1955), Concetto Spaziale de Lucio Fontana (1959) et Untitled de Joseph Cornell (1933)—qui mesure moins de 3 centimètres de diamètre-produisent un effet intégral. Parmi les œuvres intimes qui tapissent le mur, on peut admirer le Map de Jasper Johns (1960), Shéhérazade de René Magritte (1947), Peasant’s Leg de Marcel Duchamp (1904–05) et Untitled (Fireman Joke) de Richard Prince (1987).
Ces petites œuvres d’art semblent appartenir à un royaume à part, séparé, dans lequel les règles du monde physique n’ont plus lieu d’être. Leurs proportions sont semblables à celles d’un jouet d’enfant ou d’un bibelot—l’œuvre pouvant fonctionner comme le point de départ d’un récit confidentiel, et agir comme le représentant de la nostalgie et de la fantaisie. Puisant son inspiration dans l’exposition Think Tiny de l’artiste et poète Joe Brainard en 1975, ainsi que dans la nouvelle de science-fiction de Voltaire Micromegas—qui s’efforce de démontrer que l’importance ne doit pas se réduire à la taille—Micro Mania célèbre les qualités esthétiques et imaginatives inhérentes à l’art de la miniature dessinant des parallèles et des dialogues entre des artistes présentant des intérêts, des moyens d’expressions et des époques très différents.
Artistes inclus : Carl Andre, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Hans Bellmer, Dike Blair, Cecily Brown, Alexander Calder, Joseph Cornell, Marcel Duchamp, Hubert Duprat, Max Ernst, Hans Peter Feldmann, Urs Fischer, Lucio Fontana, Alberto Giacometti, John Giorno, Piero Golia, Douglas Gordon, Keith Haring, Jasper Johns, Paul Klee, Yves Klein, Franz Kline, René Magritte, Man Ray, Claes Oldenburg, Steven Parrino, Francis Picabia, Pablo Picasso, Richard Prince, Ed Ruscha, Kurt Schwitters, Charles Simonds, Elaine Sturtevant, Blair Thurman, Cy Twombly, Piotr Uklański, Andy Warhol, Tom Wesselmann, Rachel Whiteread
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A Foreigner Called Picasso
Cocurator of the exhibition A Foreigner Called Picasso, at Gagosian, New York, Annie Cohen-Solal writes about the genesis of the project, her commitment to the figure of the outsider, and Picasso’s enduring relevance to matters geopolitical and sociological.
In Conversation
Irving Blum and Dorothy Lichtenstein
In celebration of the centenary of Roy Lichtenstein’s birth, Irving Blum and Dorothy Lichtenstein sat down to discuss the artist’s life and legacy, and the exhibition Lichtenstein Remembered curated by Blum at Gagosian, New York.
In Conversation
Daniel Belasco and Scott Rothkopf on Roy Lichtenstein
Gagosian and the Art Students League of New York hosted a conversation on Roy Lichtenstein with Daniel Belasco, executive director of the Al Held Foundation, and Scott Rothkopf, senior deputy director and chief curator of the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. Organized in celebration of the centenary of the artist’s birth and moderated by Alison McDonald, chief creative officer at Gagosian, the discussion highlights multiple perspectives on Lichtenstein’s decades-long career, during which he helped originate the Pop art movement. The talk coincides with Lichtenstein Remembered, curated by Irving Blum and on view at Gagosian, New York, through October 21.
Roy and Irving
Actor and art collector Steve Martin reflects on the friendship and professional partnership between Roy Lichtenstein and art dealer Irving Blum.
In Conversation
Christopher Makos and Jessica Beck
Andy Warhol’s Insiders at the Gagosian Shop in London’s historic Burlington Arcade is a group exhibition and shop takeover that feature works by Warhol and portraits of the artist by friends and collaborators including photographers Ronnie Cutrone, Michael Halsband, Christopher Makos, and Billy Name. To celebrate the occasion, Makos met with Gagosian director Jessica Beck to speak about his friendship with Warhol and the joy of the unexpected.
Andy Warhol: Silver Screen
In this video, Jessica Beck, director at Gagosian, Beverly Hills, sits down to discuss the three early paintings by Andy Warhol from 1963 featured in the exhibition Andy Warhol: Silver Screen, at Gagosian in Paris.
