Hauser & Wirth at Art Basel 2022

Louise Bourgeois, Spider, 1996, Steel, 326.4 x 757 x 706 cm / 128 ½ x 298 x 278 in © The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY. Photo: Stefan Altenburger Photography Zürich

Booth C10, 14 – 19 June 2022 ​
​hauserwirth.com from 9 June 2022

In celebration of Hauser & Wirth’s 30th anniversary, the gallery’s booth will feature one of the most iconic art works of the 20th-century, Louise Bourgeois’ ‘Spider’ (1996). Measuring 11ft in height, the sculpture is a steel version fabricated by Bourgeois in her Brooklyn studio and has been in the same private collection since the 1990s. The booth has been radically redesigned to house ‘Spider’, which will be the centrepiece of the presentation. The sculpture will be shown alongside an outstanding selection of modern and contemporary masterpieces by artists including Philip Guston, Mark Bradford, Avery Singer, Christina Quarles, Eduardo Chillida, George Condo, Frank Bowling, Rashid Johnson, Gerhard Richter, Glenn Ligon, Sophie Taeuber-Arp and Maria Lassnig. In addition to the booth selection, works by Thomas J Price, Lorna Simpson and Anna Maria Maiolino will be exhibited at this year’s Art Basel Unlimited.

Iwan Wirth, President of Hauser & Wirth, says: ‘Louise Bourgeois was one of the very first artists to join the gallery. Our representation began in 1996, the year she created this incredible ‘Spider’. It’s an honour to bring this icon of 20th-century art to our booth at Art Basel this year to mark our 30th anniversary as a gallery, alongside many other cherished artists from our roster.’

Philip Guston, Smoking II, 1973, Oil on canvas, 100.3 x 170.8 cm / 39 1/2 x 67 1/4 i n © The Estate of Philip Guston. Courtesy the Estate and Hauser & Wirth

Mark Bradford, Cobra, 2022, Mixed media on canvas, 183.5 x 244.8 x 5.4 cm / 72 1/4 x 96 3/8 x 2 1/8 in © Mark Bradford. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo: Charles White

The gallery represents the Bourgeois Estate worldwide and has had the privilege to present 15 Bourgeois exhibitions across its locations and commission nine books on the artist over the last 26 years.

Alongside Bourgeois’ ‘Spider’, modern highlights from this year’s booth include Philip Guston’s late masterpiece ‘Smoking II’ (1973) – an autobiographical work of Guston smoking in bed, showcasing his unprecedented figural language which emerged in the late 1960s. Additional important works include ‘Begirari I’ (1956) by Spanish artist Eduardo Chillida, a rare and unique work which initiated a widely lauded series of five sculptures, and ‘Composition á motifs d’oiseaux’, a gouache and ink on paper from 1927 by Swiss artist Sophie Taeuber-Arp.

Later works include a prime example of Frank Bowling’s iconic Map paintings from the late 1960s and 70s, titled ‘Karter’s Choice’ (1972), as well as Gerhard Richter’s ‘I.G.’ (1993) – an extraordinary painting of his second wife, the renowned artist Isa Genzken, who is part of the gallery’s roster.

Gerhard Richter, I.G., 1993, Oil on canvas, 72 x 82.4 x 3.4 cm / 28 3/8 x 32 1/2 x 1 3/8 in © Gerhard Richter. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo: Jon EtterChristina Quarles, Fell Down Beneath They Own Wait (Tha Fences We Mended), 2022, Acrylic on canvas, 167.6 x 157.5 x 5.1 cm / 66 x 62 x 2 in © Christina Quarles. Courtesy the artist, Hauser & Wirth, and Pilar Corrias, London. Photo: Fredrik Nilsen

Exceptional new works by contemporary artists include Mark Bradford, Avery Singer, Glenn Ligon, George Condo, Nicolas Party, Lorna Simpson, Angel Otero, Rashid Johnson and Christina Quarles. Morphing between abstraction and figuration, Quarles’ painting ‘Fell Down Beneath They Own Wait (Tha Fences We Mended)’ (2022) depicts figures giving way to multiple limbs and faces in the artist’s hallmark painterly style, combining instinctive brushstrokes with carefully painted patterns.

George Condo, Large Reclining Nude, 2022, Oil on canvas, 215.9 x 228.6 cm / 85 x 90 in © George Condo. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo: Thomas BarrattLorna Simpson, 3 Main Characters, 2022, Ink and screenprint on gessoed fiberglass, 170.2 x 127 x 3.5 cm / 67 x 50 x 1 3/8 in © Lorna Simpson. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo: James Wang

Art Basel Unlimited
​At Art Basel Unlimited, British artist Thomas J Price will unveil a new 12ft sculpture titled ‘Moments Contained’, alongside Lorna Simpson’s installation ‘Wigs II’ (1994) and Anna Maria Maiolino’s two channel video installation ‘Twice (I X & II Y)’ (1947/2022).

Hauser & Wirth at Zurich Art Weekend
​Coinciding with this extraordinary presentation at Art Basel is ‘Facing Infinity. Alberto Giacometti & Pablo Picasso’, an exhibition curated by Dr. Dieter Buchhart at Hauser & Wirth’s space at Bahnhofstrasse 1, which displays new insights into Picasso and Giacometti’s questioning of existence. Also on view in Zurich at Hauser & Wirth’s gallery on Limmatstrasse is ‘Frank Bowling. Penumbral Light’, presenting recent abstract paintings made by Bowling mostly during the London lockdown in 2020, and ‘Jack Whitten,’ featuring rarely exhibited paintings by the American abstractionist from the late 1960s.

For additional information, please contact:

Chloe Kinsman, Hauser & Wirth, chloe@hauserwirth.com, +44 7780 904011 (Europe)
​Calum Sutton, SUTTON, calum@suttoncomms.com (Europe)
​Andrea Schwan, Andrea Schwan Inc., info@andreaschwan.com, +1 917 371 5023 (USA)