Isolde Brielmaier’s Top 5 Picks from Frieze New York Viewing Room 2024

The Deputy Director of the New Museum selects a photograph by Stephen Shore which transforms the everyday, a bold and rich painting by Dewey Crumpler, and a sculpture by Alicja Kwade for the way it “pushes our imagination”

in Frieze New York | 24 APR 24

Thenjiwe Niki Nkosi, Anchor, 2024

Oil on Belgian linen, 1.7 × 1.7 m. Presented by Stevenson Gallery. POA

This work is so refreshing. Nkosi’s precise use of a muted palette and the directionality of her gathered subjects create a sense of calm. One feels a familiarity in the anonymity of the figures. There is an elegant, welcoming levity about it.

Thenjiwe Niki Nkosi, Anchor, 2024. Oil on Belgian linen, 1.7 × 1.7 m. © Thenjiwe Niki Nkosi. Courtesy of Stevenson, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Amsterdam — Thenjiwe Niki Nkosi, *Anchor*, 2024. Oil on Belgian linen, 1.7 × 1.7 m. © Thenjiwe Niki Nkosi. Courtesy of Stevenson, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Amsterdam

Dewey Crumpler, Crimson, 2007

Acrylic on canvas, 1.9 × 1.5 m. Presented by Jenkins Johnson Gallery. POA

The combination of forms, shapes and color make Crumpler’s paintings so dynamic. This quality often delicately obscures the bold, rich historical concepts the artist engages, using visual motifs and cues to delve deep into the history of African Americans both on the African continent and through the Middle Passage.

Dewey Crumpler, Crimson, 2007. Acrylic on canvas, 1.9 × 1.5 m. Courtesy of Jenkins Johnson Gallery — Dewey Crumpler, *Crimson*, 2007. Acrylic on canvas, 1.9 × 1.5 m. Courtesy of Jenkins Johnson Gallery

Ricardo Brey, A Clearing in the Woods, 2023

Mixed media, 1.2 × 1.6 m. Presented by Alexander Gray Associates. $20-50k

There is something poetic and quiet about this work (one of a larger series) by Brey. His use of shadow, light and dark, as well as various shades of blue, allow this work to riff off the ocean and the sky. The trees extend out to one another, and while Brey has created an empty clearing between them, he also establishes a strong presence in the absence of anything but space.

Ricardo Brey, A Clearing in the Woods, 2023. Mixed media, 1.2 × 1.6 m. Courtesy of Alexander Gray Associates — Ricardo Brey, *A Clearing in the Woods*, 2023. Mixed media, 1.2 × 1.6 m. Courtesy of Alexander Gray Associates

Stephen Shore, Horseshoe Bend Motel, Lovell, Wyoming, July 16, 1973, 1973

Chromogenic color print, 43 × 55 cm, edition of 8, with 2 AP. Presented by 303 Gallery. $50-100k

Shore is so adept at transforming everyday mundane places and things into something that commands our attention. He encourages us to look again; to look more deeply by using color, light and perspective to shift the way we see things. This work feels both old and new simultaneously.

Stephen Shore, Horseshoe Bend Motel, Lovell, Wyoming, July 16, 1973, 1973 Chromogenic color print, 43 × 55 cm, edition of 8, with 2 AP. Presented by 303 Gallery. $50-100k — Stephen Shore, *Horseshoe Bend Motel, Lovell, Wyoming, July 16, 1973*, 1973. Chromogenic color print, 43 × 55 cm, edition of 8, with 2 AP. Presented by 303 Gallery. $50-100k

Alicja Kwade, Amás Matter, 2023

Stainless steel, sandstone, marble, 138 × 42 × 42 cm. Presented by 303 Gallery. $50-100k

I love the way Kwade asks us to re-think the structures and objects that often make up our everyday life. We recognize the materials and particular objects – steel, marble, stone – even as they are taken out of context, mixed up and taken apart. In this way her work envelops ideas of time and space and pushes our imagination.

Alicja Kwade, Amás Matter, 2023. Stainless steel, sandstone, marble, 138 × 42 × 42 cm. Courtesy of 303 Gallery — Alicja Kwade, *Amás Matter*, 2023. Stainless steel, sandstone, marble, 138 × 42 × 42 cm. Courtesy of 303 Gallery

About Isolde Brielmaier 

Isolde Brielmaier is Deputy Director of the New Museum, New York. Previously, Isolde served for six years as Executive Director Arts, Culture & Community Initiatives at Westfield World Trade Center. Isolde is also Guest Curator at the International Center for Photography (ICP) in New York and Associate Professor of Critical Studies in Tisch's Department of Photography, Imaging and Emerging Media at New York University. Her most recent photography book, I am Sparkling, was released in June 2022. She is also the author of Culture as Catalyst (2020). She speaks regularly on topics related to art, culture, leadership and social impact. Previously, Isolde has worked for the Guggenheim Museum, the Bronx Museum of Art, and as Chief Curator for the SCAD Museum of Art. She serves on the boards of Prep for Prep and the sustainable luxury fashion brand Another Tomorrow, as well as an advisor to Malaika, an all-girls school in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Isolde holds a PhD from Columbia University and lives in New York City.

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^{Main image: Isolde Brielmaier. Photo by Rog and Bee}