For the inaugural edition of Frieze Seoul, and in celebration of Hauser & Wirth’s 30th anniversary, the presentation will bring together an astounding group of contemporary and historical works by leading gallery artists, including Louise Bourgeois, Mark Bradford, John Chamberlain, George Condo, Günther Förg, Philip Guston, Camille Henrot, Jenny Holzer, Roni Horn, Luchita Hurtado, Rashid Johnson, Mike Kelley, Glenn Ligon, Angel Otero, Nicolas Party, Jason Rhoades, Pipilotti Rist, Mika Rottenberg and Avery Singer. In addition to the works at Frieze Seoul, Phyllida Barlow and Mika Rottenberg will be participating in the Busan Biennale. Rottenberg will reveal ‘Remote’ (2022), her first feature-length film for its South Korean premiere in the autumn.
The booth will feature exceptional contemporary works by artists: Mark Bradford, George Condo, Camille Henrot, Jenny Holzer, Rashid Johnson, Glenn Ligon, Angel Otero, Nicolas Party, Pipilotti Rist and Gary Simmons. In George Condo’s latest large-scale painting, ‘Red Portrait Composition’ (2022), the artist continues to examine his form of psychological cubism through abstracted faces and a theatrical red background that reveals the fragmented psyche of his painted subject. In the new painting ‘Overpass’ (2022), Mark Bradford employs his signature style of archaeological abstraction to explore maps, unpacking social and political systems that objectify and marginalise vulnerable populations. Capturing both subjective and collective historical states, Rashid Johnson’s ‘Surrender Painting ‘No Worries’ ’ (2022) is part of a new body of work made during the global pandemic, suggesting feelings of acceptance and reconciliation. In Nicolas Party’s latest pastel landscape ‘Clouds’ (2022) – echoing his current solo exhibition at Hauser & Wirth Hong Kong, the clouds, water and reflections symbolize a kind of timelessness, or the continual passage of time.
Modern highlights from this year’s booth include Louise Bourgeois’ ‘Gray Fountain’ (1970-1971), a compelling example of the artist’s emotionally intense and psychologically charged sculptural practice. An ensemble of separate and cylindrical grey marble components form a subtle incline and appear to face simultaneously toward and away from one another, creating a sense of tension, movement and dynamism. Philip Guston’s ‘Untitled (Outsider)’ (1972) is from his most acclaimed series of work, which marked a turning point not only in the artist’s oeuvre but within the history of American art. Consisting of a highly symbolic self-portrait as a coffee mug with two masked figures that the artist referred to as ‘hoods’ – Guston’s most recognizable motifs – the work grapples with the human and everyday aspects of evil. Jason Rhoades is best known for his large-scale multimedia installations exploring concepts of labor, capital, materiality, modernism, performance, and process. The artist’s idiosyncratic installations draw on the history of assemblage, incorporating a wide range of objects, including products of mass culture which Rhoades combined with handmade objects and personal items with autobiographical significance. ‘NOM Korean Bedroom Idol’ (2006), hung in Rhoades’ bedroom at his studio near Los Angeles’ Koreatown neighborhood, where he was living and working at the time. This is Rhoades’ only known artwork using a found neon sign, which he acquired from a karaoke bar near his studio that he frequented.
In Hong Kong, coinciding with the fair, Nicolas Party’s first solo exhibition in Hong Kong ‘Red Forest’ is on view at Hauser & Wirth until 24 September, 13 new pastel landscapes and portraits, illuminating nature’s complex and often inextricable ties with humanity. Meanwhile, Pipilotti Rist is taking over the entirety of Tai Kwun Contemporary galleries and beyond for her major solo exhibition ‘Behind Your Eyelid’, on view until 27 November. Rist’s signature moving image installations—highly immersive, deeply sensual, and remarkably insightful—wrap visitors with a virtual hug of sounds, colors and moving images.
