Sean Kelly is delighted to return to Frieze London with Traces of the Hand, a joint presentation of new paintings by Hugo McCloud and Janaina Tschäpe. This two-person project showcases the diverse approaches and perspectives of the artists who each bring to their work the energy of the natural world in their all-encompassing practices. The booth will include three of Hugo McCloud’s single-use plastic paintings, two small plastic floral paintings, and an abstract tar paper painting. In his single-use plastic paintings, McCloud’s controlled and delicate manipulation of nontraditional and often overlooked multi-colored plastic transforms this quotidian material into a rich new form of contemporary pigment. Drawing inspiration from photographs taken on a recent trip to India, McCloud’s large-scale vertical paintings depict a group of beach cleaners along the shoreline of Mumbai. Continuing McCloud’s interest in imagery of labor and the life cycle of single-use plastic. Observing the downcycle of these bags from their creation, to the companies that purchased them for the distribution of products, to the trash collectors who scavenge them, McCloud highlights how this ubiquitous material passes through the hands of individuals at every level of society.
Whereas McCloud shines a light on the invisible labor and traces that humans leave behind, Janaina Tschäpe, in her paintings, traces the memories of landscapes with her own inner thoughts and emotions, connecting her free-flowing imagination to evocations of the natural environment. In her dreamlike, abstract paintings, Tschäpe’s vigorous, gestural mark-making allows for a lyrical expression where the rich pigments dance fluidly across their surfaces. With each brushstroke, rich, sensuous colors collide and meld, creating imagery of organic forms suggesting growth, transition, and metamorphosis. Inspired by minute details often overlooked in nature, such as changes in light, the movement of leaves, the rushing of water and movement of the wind, Tschäpe translates these sensations into a distinctive language of abstraction rooted in deeply personal experience, yet open to interpretation. While Tschäpe’s visualizes the beauty of the world around us, McCloud highlights the traces humankind leaves on the natural world.
On the occasion of her historic solo survey at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, on view through January 1, 2023, Sean Kelly will present a single work by Marina Abramović entitled Places of Power, Waterfall. This striking portrait of the artist depicts Abramović as she stands under a Brazilian waterfall in a commanding pose. Dressed in white and framed by the powerful falls, Abramović maintains a solemn countenance while her body seems to act as a conduit for the energetic force of nature that appears to engulf her.
Image captions: Marina Abramović, Places of Power, Waterfall, 2013, framed fine art pigment print, image/paper: 63 x 83 7/8 inches, framed: 64 1/2 x 85 5/8 x 2 3/4 inches © Marina Abramović Courtesy: the Marina Abramović Archives and Sean Kelly, New York/Los Angeles; Janaina Tschäpe, Red afternoon (with sparkles), 2023, oil and oil stick on canvas, 80 x 102 inches © Janaina Tschäpe Courtesy: the artist and Sean Kelly, New York/Los Angeles; Hugo McCloud, untitled, 2023, single use plastic mounted on panel, framed: 85 7/8 x 61 1/4 x 2 1/4 inches © Hugo McCloud Courtesy: the artist and Sean Kelly, New York/Los Angeles
Sean Kelly at Frieze London 2023
October 11 – 15, 2023, Stand D08
Photography: Sebastiano Pellion di Persano
Courtesy: Sean Kelly, New York/Los Angeles
