Wade GUYTON, Black Paintings

In the art book world, good surprises are rather scarce these days. So let me seize the opportunity to signal (at last) an outstanding release: Wade Guyton’s Black Paintings, published by JRP Ringier. More than an illustrative project, it is a true artist book, for which everything (from the paper and binding to graphic design) seems to have been thought over in details.

As the publisher’s description states, “for this volume, Wade Guyton first had the book designed, and then printed it on the same ink-jet printers he used for his large-format serial prints on canvas. These pages were then scanned and printed by offset”. The result is that the physical object in itself corresponds well with Guyton’s approach, focused on imperfections. Even better, it is an extension of the work, on the same level than a printer’s drawing or a canvas.

With “Black Paintings” (not to mention the two publications made for Museum Ludwig and Vienna Secession), Wade Guyton clearly fulfills an ambition many contemporary artists are neglecting: making good artist’s books. It sheds a fine light on a very coherent body of work, making him much more than a hot speculative artist.
PS: the closest link I could find with another artist book is Christopher Wool’s Maybe Maybe Not, in which Wool included Polaroids of his paintings, photocopied and photocopied again. Obviously, making art in the age of mechanical reproduction is everyone’s challenge…

Images: courtesy JRP Ringier

Christopher WOOL, Absent without leave

How to define artistic influence ? Let’s take for instance a book published by Christopher Wool in 1993, titled “Absent without leave”. I can’t be sure today’s artists have seen it, or even heard of it. But its content – black and white photocopied photographs of European urban landscapes – resonates with many recent works, focused on the status of images after their alteration. Namely, RH Quaytman, Wade Guyton, Nathan Hylden, and countless others.
Christopher Wool is more well known for his canvases, such as the word paintings. His photo work has less been exhibited, and seems totally out of the scope of the art market. But the way Wool xeroxed the prints, then printing them in offset, in a repetitive yet imperfect manner, fits well with many contemporary strategies in the art world. What is more, “Absent without leave” enjoys an interesting book design. The pages paper and binding yield with an impression of both density and fragility. Its aesthetics pre-announces the return to the very direct and simple style of many publications of our time (Nieves for example), with at least a ten years advance.
For all these reasons, as an answer to the initial question, the book may well become a “classic”, exerting influence for some time again.

February in London, contemporary art auctions

Next week, London will see a new round of contemporary art auctions. As in 2009, there are fewer lots, with a focus on quality. In a dream world, here are a few lots I would happily bid on:

At Philips de Pury:

WOLFGANG TILLMANS

(Untitled) Las Vegas, 2000

Cibachrome print in the artist's frame. 171.5 × 145.1 cm (67 1/2 × 57 1/8 in). Signed 'Wolfgang Tillmans' and numbered of one on the reverse. This work is from an edition of one plus an artist's proof.

30.000£-40.000£

In my view, this Tillmans image ranks amongst his best works. It was the cover image of the “View from above” book. Philips de Pury’s catalog says it well: “The beautiful urban nightscape is broken up by a series of gleaming lines and marks spread across the picture’s surface like the slashing, gestural brushstrokes of an abstract painter.”

At Christies:

Peter FISCHLI & David WEISS

Airport (Paris Air France)

signed and dated '2000 Fischli David Weiss' (on the backing board)

Cibachrome print. 60 x 83 5/8in. (152.4 x 212.4cm.)

Executed in 2000, this work is number three from an edition of six

18.000£-22.000£

Fischli&Weiss Airport Series is one of my favourite body of works (and an excellent book, too). This will sound odd, but the print is rather cheaply priced here. There is room for surprise on the upside, though this particular image could be judged a little bit too dark.

At Christies:

WADE GUYTON

Untitled, executed in 2005.

EPSON ULTRACHROME INKJET ON LINEN

30 7/8 X 24 7/8in. (78.5 X 63cm.)

20.000£-30.000£

Christies will auction three works by Wade Guyton. I will get a close look at results, as Wade Guyton works are very scarce both on the primary and secondary markets. This “painting”, most notably, is typical of Guyton’s inkjet works.