Reverse Alchemy: Dubuffet, Basquiat, Nava
Pace is pleased to announce the inaugural exhibition at its new space in Berlin鈥檚 Sch枚neberg neighborhood鈥攎arking a major milestone for the gallery鈥檚 presence in Europe. Reverse Alchemy: Dubuffet, Basquiat, Nava brings together works on paper by three artists of different generations who have transgressed and disrupted the language of figuration: Jean Dubuffet, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Robert Nava.
Anchored in Dubuffet鈥檚 鈥渁nti-cultural鈥� celebration of art brut, this exhibition focuses on the medium of paper to explore how these artists perform a reverse alchemy, transmuting the gilded surfaces of 鈥渉igh art鈥� back into its base elements鈥攖he raw, crude, and unhewn matter of mark-making鈥攄ismantling and exploding the figure in the act of rendering it. On view from May 2 through June 14, the exhibition inaugurates Pace鈥檚 new chapter in Berlin by reflecting on the outsized and profoundly disruptive influence of Dubuffet on both the history of art and the shape of contemporary practice.
Coinciding with Gallery Weekend Berlin, Reverse Alchemy is one of two inaugural exhibitions at Die Tankstelle, a new art space鈥攚ith galleries, offices, and an adjacent cafe and bookshop鈥攈oused in a converted 1950s gas station and shared by Pace and Galerie Judin. In a concurrent, complementary presentation, Galerie Judin will present an exhibition dedicated to Tom of Finland, an artist whose practice similarly challenged the distinctions between high and low art.
Pace鈥檚 exhibition juxtaposes a suite of late works on paper by Dubuffet dating from the late 1970s and 1980s with drawings that the young Basquiat鈥�59 years Dubuffet鈥檚 junior鈥攎ade during precisely the same time. Dubuffet鈥檚 and Basquiat鈥檚 works from the 1980s provide a context for recent works on paper by contemporary artist Robert Nava. Nava鈥檚 sensibility extends a legacy of expressive mark-making coupled with the rejection of traditional hierarchies in art, reflecting the continued influence of both Dubuffet and Basquiat on contemporary practice. Curated by Pace鈥檚 Chief Curator, Oliver Shultz, the exhibition follows the gallery鈥檚 solo presentations of Dubuffet鈥攚hom Pace has represented since 1967鈥攁nd Nava this spring in New York. It also builds upon Dubuffet and Basquiat, a 2006 exhibition organized by Pace Founder and Chairman Arne Glimcher at Pace New York, which explored Dubuffet鈥檚 direct influence on Basquiat鈥檚 aesthetic.
Reverse Alchemy is presented on the occasion of Pace鈥檚 65th anniversary year, during which the gallery is mounting exhibitions of work by major 20th century artists鈥攚ith whom it has maintained decades-long relationships鈥攁t its spaces around the world.
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Pace is pleased to announce the inaugural exhibition at its new space in Berlin鈥檚 Sch枚neberg neighborhood鈥攎arking a major milestone for the gallery鈥檚 presence in Europe. Reverse Alchemy: Dubuffet, Basquiat, Nava brings together works on paper by three artists of different generations who have transgressed and disrupted the language of figuration: Jean Dubuffet, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Robert Nava.
Anchored in Dubuffet鈥檚 鈥渁nti-cultural鈥� celebration of art brut, this exhibition focuses on the medium of paper to explore how these artists perform a reverse alchemy, transmuting the gilded surfaces of 鈥渉igh art鈥� back into its base elements鈥攖he raw, crude, and unhewn matter of mark-making鈥攄ismantling and exploding the figure in the act of rendering it. On view from May 2 through June 14, the exhibition inaugurates Pace鈥檚 new chapter in Berlin by reflecting on the outsized and profoundly disruptive influence of Dubuffet on both the history of art and the shape of contemporary practice.
Coinciding with Gallery Weekend Berlin, Reverse Alchemy is one of two inaugural exhibitions at Die Tankstelle, a new art space鈥攚ith galleries, offices, and an adjacent cafe and bookshop鈥攈oused in a converted 1950s gas station and shared by Pace and Galerie Judin. In a concurrent, complementary presentation, Galerie Judin will present an exhibition dedicated to Tom of Finland, an artist whose practice similarly challenged the distinctions between high and low art.
Pace鈥檚 exhibition juxtaposes a suite of late works on paper by Dubuffet dating from the late 1970s and 1980s with drawings that the young Basquiat鈥�59 years Dubuffet鈥檚 junior鈥攎ade during precisely the same time. Dubuffet鈥檚 and Basquiat鈥檚 works from the 1980s provide a context for recent works on paper by contemporary artist Robert Nava. Nava鈥檚 sensibility extends a legacy of expressive mark-making coupled with the rejection of traditional hierarchies in art, reflecting the continued influence of both Dubuffet and Basquiat on contemporary practice. Curated by Pace鈥檚 Chief Curator, Oliver Shultz, the exhibition follows the gallery鈥檚 solo presentations of Dubuffet鈥攚hom Pace has represented since 1967鈥攁nd Nava this spring in New York. It also builds upon Dubuffet and Basquiat, a 2006 exhibition organized by Pace Founder and Chairman Arne Glimcher at Pace New York, which explored Dubuffet鈥檚 direct influence on Basquiat鈥檚 aesthetic.
Reverse Alchemy is presented on the occasion of Pace鈥檚 65th anniversary year, during which the gallery is mounting exhibitions of work by major 20th century artists鈥攚ith whom it has maintained decades-long relationships鈥攁t its spaces around the world.
Artists on show
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