Lynda Benglis sculptures and Hans Hurting paintings at Cheim & Read’s booth at Frieze Masters. All photos by Caroline Claisse for Art Observed unless otherwise noted

Frieze Masters and Frieze London concluded on October 14th, with both fairs reporting solid sales on the high end. This year, there was a distinct focus on curated booths and curatorial projects and less of an overt feeling of commercialization. Frieze Masters in particular focused on serious connoisseurship and an academic approach, both of which translated into a successful fair for dealers.

(more…)

Installation view, Plant Lithographs by Ellsworth Kelly, at Ingleby Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland, via Ingleby Gallery

One of the greatest living artists, Ellsworth Kelly, 85, was a founding protagonist of the abstract expressionist movement that emerged in 1950s America.

Kelly was once a contemporary of Pollock and Rothko, developing his own minimalistic compositions where line, color, form and space are thoughtfully crafted into abstract visual compositions, bearing a very distinctive and identifiable sensibility that has become his trademark. The works on display at Edinburgh’s Ingleby Gallery span his career from the 1960s to as recently as 2004, and show a persistence and consistency that is surpassed only by the purity and deceptively simple beauty of the pieces. The lithographs have the effect of appearing more figurative than they actually are–upon closer inspection, the lines in the composition become less obviously configured to represent its subject, and more abstract.

Kelly began to explore the form of plants and other subjects culled from nature while living in Paris in the 1940s.  He moved back to the U.S. in 1954, and began making prints ten years later. The lithographs in the show are from the artist’s personal collection and several have never been exhibited before. They are available for sale and will be on display through January 31st.

PLANT LITHOGRAPHS FROM THE ARTIST’S COLLECTION
Ellsworth Kelly
on display at the Ingleby Gallery
through February 7th, 2009
15 Calton Road, Edinburgh, Scotland

Exhibition page: Ellsworth Kelly
Gallery page: Ingleby Gallery
Pick of the week: Plant Lithographs by Elsworth Kelly [Times UK]
Exhibition preview: Ellsworth Kelly, Edinburgh [Guardian]

(more…)