Favorite 2D Works from Art Basel 2022, Part 2

"Veiled Jinnah with Hat" by Salman Toor (2010)

So much art, so little time. I spent more than seven hours at this year's Art Basel roaming the aisles. Of course, "roaming" makes it sound much more leisurely than it actually was. I was on a mission to see what artists are creating today. And while most of the works on display were in fact made very recently, there were some exceptions, including this painting by the Salman Toor. It intrigued me, and I wanted to know what was going on. Thank you, internet. 

Toor is a Pakistani artist who lives in the United States. The man depicted here is Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. From 1913 to 1947, when the country came into existence, Jinnah was the leader of the All India Muslim League. After the country's founding, he served as the first Governor-General until his death. The hat Jinnah wears here is a Karakul hat frequently worn by men in Central and Southern Asia. Because Jinnah typically wore this type of cap -- sans the veil -- it also is known as a Jinnah hat. So this work is Jinnah wearing a Jinnah hat, with a veil that I assume is a reference to the veil that some women wear (although there are no stringent dress codes like in Iran). 

The style in which Toor works today is much looser and even more autobiographical. He's kind of a big deal. His first solo museum exhibit opened in 2020 at the Whitney. Talk about starting off big! He is currently participating in an exhibit at the Frick entitled "Living Histories: Queer Views and Old Masters." In the exhibit, works by Toor and other LGTB artists are in conversation with works in the Frick's collection. Toor's work is in a Vermeer gallery. For a super interesting talk with Toor about his participation in the project, click here. Among other things, Toor commented on the "dignity" with which Vermeer imbues his subjects. Toor seeks to do the same in his work, albeit in an entirely different way. He also talks about why the Vermeer paintings with which he's been paired are a bit "naughty." For more about Toor, click here. 

"Finally Facing You" by John Edmonds (2022)

I loved the three photographs from John Edmonds' "Tribe" series that were on display. I'm always drawn to African masks and sculptures, which are generally fairly simple yet incredibly expressive. The tattoos all over this man's body are anything but simple. It's a striking contrast. Truthfully, though, it was the outright beauty of these works that captured my focus. Not surprisingly, there's a lot more going on than a pretty picture. 

This series of photographs began when Edmonds was asked to capture images of the Brooklyn Museum's collection of African art objects. African masks and sculptures have long been of interest to artists, including Picasso and Matisse. The objects were donated to the Museum by Ralph Ellison, which adds another layer to the project. 

The project raised a number of questions for Edmonds about cultural appropriation and authenticity. (With respect to the question of authenticity, many African objects are specifically made for the tourist market.) Questions about photography and collecting as "acts of possession and desire" were also raised in Edmonds' mind. The resulting exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum -- entitled "A Sidelong Glance" -- was Edmonds' first solo museum show. Edmonds hopes viewers come away from this work with a recognition that the past is always present and must be dealt with in order to move forward. For two great articles about Edmonds and this project, click here and here. 

"The act of self love: yearning to utopia, searching
for it in foreign lands" by Zandile Tschabalala (2022) 

Then there was "The act of self love: yearning for utopia, searching for it in foreign lands" by Zandile Tshabalala. Whew! There's a lot packed into that title. The wall card said the medium for this painting is acrylic. It's hard believe Tshabalala didn't use gold leaf to create the gorgeous inset that frames the tub as the woman pauses before settling in for her bath. The image is so striking. 

The intention behind Tschabalala's figurative works is "to re-represent Black women in a more confident, sensual, beautiful manner" than the way in which they have been depicted throughout art history. While "The act of self love..." doesn't reference a specific work from the art history canon, the South African artist places her figure in an intimate setting similar to that in which women have been historically depicted. Think harems and boudoirs. I wasn't able to find out much about this artist, which seemed curious. She is, after all, being exhibited by a major gallery at Art Basel. Then I figured out why -- she's only 23 years old. Tschabalala is another artist whose work I expect to see more of in the future. To see more of her work now, click here. I particularly like her Henri Rousseau-inspired paintings. 

"Girlfriends" by Katherine Bradford (2022)

It's so hard to choose which work to leave you with as I look toward my next post about works that include text. I opted for this painting by Katherine Bradford that just makes me happy. It's called "Girlfriends" and makes me think of the women in my life who've been there during good times and bad. Thank you to you all. 

I've mentioned that other artists I've highlighted in these blogs have recently had their first solo museum shows. So has Bradford, but there's a big difference. She is 80 years old. 

Bradford always wanted to be an artist, but she grew up in a traditional family and married into an even more traditional -- and political -- family. In 1979, at the age of 37, she left her husband and headed to New York with her ten year old twins in tow to pursue her dream. After many, many years of struggling to be recognized, 2021 was a great year for Bradford. Having finally obtained gallery representation a few years earlier, her work was being acquired by museums (not to mention being exhibited at Art Basel). She received a commission to create five mosaic murals for the NYC Subway art program. And a retrospective of her work was mounted at the Portland Art Museum in Maine and then moved to the Frye Museum in Seattle. The title of the exhibit is "Flying Woman" and is based on a work by the same name that Bradford created in 1999. To see that painting, click here. Bradford has said that after years of looking at the work, she realized it was a self-portrait of an artist who wanted to fly but whose feet were just getting off the ground. A depiction today would be more of a Superman (Superwoman?) pose. (That's my commentary, not hers.) 

For a great article about Bradford, click here. To see one of Bradford's subway works, click here.  And if you're interested in hearing from Bradford directly, click here for an interview at the Portland Museum about her retrospective. When asked how she felt about seeing all her work over the years in one place, she said, "I'm excited but also nervous. It's a little like seeing your child in a play. I hope my paintings will behave." It's always good to have a sense of humor. 

Next up: Favorite works featuring text