in Frieze | 03 MAY 19

Spotlight at Frieze New York 2019

From Alex Katz to Elvira Bach to Paul Nash, read about highlights from the fair's section for 20th-century pioneers

in Frieze | 03 MAY 19

As part of a new year-round collaboration between Frieze New York and The Drawing Center, Laura Hoptman will serve as the new curatorial advisor for the Spotlight section, with 33 galleries presenting solo presentations of significant work by overlooked figures and rarely seen practices of modern masters.

Hoptman said: This year’s section will showcase remarkable artworks by artists with fascinating histories and urgent stories to tell – from pioneering New Yorkers such as Louise Fishman, Mary Ann Unger, Knox Martin, Charles Hinman and Red Grooms to international Modern Masters who are renowned in their own countries but lesser known in the U.S., like Elvira Bach from Germany and Paul Nash from the UK. 

Elvira Bach, Nachteule , 1982, Resin Paint on Paper , 165 ×  × 130 cm, Courtesy of Galerie Kornfeld & Elvira Bach

This year, Spotlight will have a special emphasis on the radical potential of drawing, revealing the Renaissance techniques behind Alex Katz’s seminal paintings and the influences of architecture and sensuality in the drawings of German-Egyptian artist Susan Hefuna.

Joan Brown, Homage to Sathya Sai Baba, 1983, Oil enamel on canvas, 182.5 ×  × 304.5 cm, Courtesy of George Adams Gallery

As always, the section will celebrate non-conformity and radical thinking in many forms and across geographical divides, from feminist pioneers like Leonor Fini, Greta Schödl and Kazuko Miyamoto, to ground-breaking figures inspired by spirituality and ancient cultures, such as Joan Brown, Rachid Koraïchi and Yüksel Arslan.

Explore Spotlight galleries here

Frieze New York will take place May 2 through 5, 2019, in Randall's Island Park. 

To stay up to date on fair news, follow @friezeartfair on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook

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