As we traverse Art Basel in Miami Beach, Isaac Julien is mobbed and praised by collectors and fans at every other step. The London-based artist and film-maker is best-known for his poetic and visionary documentaries such as the film installation Lessons of the Hour: Frederick Douglass (2019), which is being shown at Metro Pictures. In the fairs new Meridians section is the US premiere of Juliens Lina Bo Bardi—A Marvellous Entanglement (2019), a tribute to the late Brazilian artist and architect. Here, he shares with us his favourite works at the fair.
Frank Bowling, Africa to Australia (1971), Hales Gallery: (Meridians) “Can you believe this work was painted in 1971? It looks like it was done yesterday. Thats the wickedness of the neglect that some artists have received. Its mind-boggling.”
Cindy Shermans tapestries at Metro Pictures: “Cindy Sherman is at the forefront of all digital photographic innovation. I believe these new works began as Instagram posts. I think this translation of photography into tapestry is a nod to her relationship to painting. I also love the juxtaposition of these two beautiful pieces. Theyre amazing.”
Howardena Pindell, Untitled (1972) Victoria Miro: “Howardena Pindell is close to my heart. She did abstraction during an era when it wasnt necessarily the type of work she was meant to produce as an African American woman. Like Frank Bowling, there has been a belated recognition of her work. Its wonderful that it is being championed now, even if its overdue.”
Sam Gilliam, Untitled (2011), David Kordansky:“Sam Gilliam, like Bowling, is one of those artists who is just a master of their medium. There is something about his work that is astonishing. What is also amazing is how contemporaneous the work is—it doesnt look like it was made by someone in their 80s. Its so fresh that you assume it was made by quite a young artist. I also love how its positioned next to a beautiful sculpture by Simone Leigh.”
Tomie Ohtake's works at Galeria Nara Roesler: “Tomie Ohtake is incredibly well-known in Brazil but I didnt know much about her until I began to understand Brazilian culture through art. Shes an incredible Modernist artist. I hate this idea that has befallen Modernist artists from the South, where their form of Modernism is somehow viewed as imitating the West. There have always been various Modernisms. Internationalism is something were just beginning to embrace, in some ways.”
Sally Manns photographs, Edwynn Houk:“I had a conversation with Sally Mann when I was doing conservation work for the film Looking for Langston (1989). She was the one who told me about this amazing black-and-white photography conservation specialist who could reconstruct negatives from digital files. It was that conversation that started the series of work I did on Langston [Hughes]. Mann is a master of photography, and she was very instructional for me.”
