Editor’s Note: Last summer, the art market website artnet asked three dozen “well-traveled experts” to weigh in on the best artworks they saw as they toured the season’s fairs and exhibits. The group included Kansas City’s Julián Zugazagoitia, director & CEO of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, whose remarks about works he encountered in the city of Le Havre, France, and in New York (as he returned from Europe), appeared in artnet News Aug. 17.
In addition to France and New York, Zugazagoitia’s travels included stops in Germany, Switzerland and Italy, where he saw plenty of works that spurred his enthusiasm — more, in fact, than would fit in artnet’s allotted slot.
So, what caught the eye of the head of KC’s largest art museum (who incidentally, will soon have an expanded Kansas City Sculpture Park to fill)? The following essay features the full roundup of Zugazagoitia’s choices.
This summer the stars aligned for a rare confluence of art world events — Documenta, the Venice Biennale, Art Basel and Skulptur Projekte Münster — that take the pulse of the state of creation today. It became apparent from my whirlwind of travel that there is not one art world, but a myriad of art centers, and the simultaneity makes it exciting, varied and enriching.
In the commercial realm, I am still longing to acquire a Robert Motherwell painting, and I was drawn to some that I saw at the Art Basel fair in Basel, Switzerland. But memory keeps me going to the mural I saw in 2016, also in a gallery in Basel.
Documenta, the big contemporary art show held every five years in Kassel, Germany, brought significant new artists to my attention, and in particular many from Greece, including George Hadjimichalis’s “Crossroad” (1990-95/97), at the Fridericianum museum. From a table made of iron, deceptively simple, a universe is created that he documents with photos and video. This Documenta will be remembered for its myriads of socially engaged art and for the revival of Marta Menujín’s “The Parthenon of Books,” created from prohibited books.
What I loved most about Skulptur Projekte Münster — which happens every ten years — was contrasting and reminiscing on the first time I experienced it as a student (it must have been the 1987 exhibition), and how some of those works remain, such as the Giuseppe Penone sculpture, bringing a layered discovery of new works and old friends. “On Water,” Ayşe Erkmen’s water bridge installation, while ephemeral, will have a lasting and permanent presence in my mind.
A sublime moment for me was discovering the Hall Art Foundation at Schloss Derneburg in Germany, a fortified castle with many attendant buildings all transformed for the enjoyment of a very idiosyncratic and personal collection. The expansive space is accompanied by the generous spirit of the Halls, who collect contemporary art and are now opening their collection to the public. Anthony Gormley’s work was presented in an extensive and rich exhibition, the largest to date, yet his most poetic piece was a single body cast seated on a window sill, overlooking the horizon and welcoming the visitors.
Venice delivered excitement too, as well as new discoveries. The most talked about exhibition was the monumental “Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable” by Damien Hirst. Hundreds of new works are united by a fantasy story and yet, I am still puzzled by them. I find them impossible to dismiss, and am perplexed by their set design dimensions and cinematographic lavishness.
In the Biennale, what remains most vividly in my mind is Xavier Veilhan’s Merzbau-inspired French pavilion, “Studio Venezia,” where musicians activated the space; along with the Swiss Pavilion, where I loved the narrative nature of the film by Teresa Hubbard and Alexander Birchler regarding the artist Flora Mayo and her relationship with Giacometti.
Almost under the radar, the city of Le Havre is celebrating its 500-year anniversary with many public art works and special commissions. While smaller than the other events, it focuses on a generation of French artists who are characterized by a whimsical post-Duchampian spirit.
Stéphane Thidet’s permanent installation, “Impact,” deserves its name: Two powerful jets of water collide, creating an evanescent screen that changes constantly and then disappears as the six-minute loop ends. The backdrop of the Bassin du Commerce, famous for being where Monet painted “Impression, Soleil Levant,” and near the Oscar Niemeyer plaza, make Thidet’s waterwork a new way to frame the city. Vincent Ganivet created two arches with colorful maritime containers as an homage to the shipping activity of the city.
Finally, a quick stop in New York on the way back to Kansas City allowed me to visit the recently inaugurated Wallach Art Gallery at Columbia University. Under the inspired leadership of Deborah Cullen, the exhibition “Uptown” holds its own against all these multinational art world events. The space allowed for a focused experience with the works; art lovers were also invited to pursue “Uptown” exploration in the various other venues that collaborated on this project.
Elegant and understated, one piece is still on my mind from an artist that I have yet to get to know better: Michael Kelly Williams. His piece, “Revelation and Improvisation,” brought into focus the pleasure of whimsical assemblage (one that grew deeper as I understood that the work was the result of his residency at the New York nonprofit Materials for the Arts recycling and reuse center), combining folk, African and musical instruments to celebrate his roots and passion for jazz.
