Minimalist + Monochrome: Favorites From Art Basel 2023
One of the pioneering and most anticipated art retreats of them all, Art Basel Miami Beach 2023 showcases some incredible emerging and established talent each year – featuring artists that exhibit everything from elaborate textile art to ornate acrylic paintings, mirrors that double as art installations, and sophisticated sculptures.
Adhering to a mostly playful palette of conceptual sculptural art, my favorite oeuvre at Basel this year possessed bold iconographic motifs that were rich in texture and punctuated by beautiful vivid colors.
Extraordinary Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Jesse Wine
Exploring the relationship between the physical and physiological, Jesse Wine often experiments with anthropomorphic forms in his work. Crafted from a multitude of materials including ceramic and steel, this piece also exhibits an oxidized copper finish with limbs emerging from a chunky bed-like structure, transitioning from a static to kinetic force.
Photo: Sebastiano Pellion di Persano, courtesy The Modern Institute
Lipstick Yellow by Mark Handforth
Influenced by the irreverence and cheekiness of pop art with a minimalistic approach, this sculpture was designed to emulate a calligraphic or typographic symbol – designed from individual lipstick capsules crafted from aluminum and finished in a bold yellow polyurethane paint.
Photo: Courtesy P.P.OW Gallery
My Beating Heart (Mi Corazón Latiente) by Pepón Osorio
Executing textural and sculptural art often exploring political and cultural issues affecting the Latinx community, Pepón crafted this anatomical heart from crepe paper to emulate a piñata – the installation both sonically and visually conveying characteristics of a human heart, even designed with speakers playing the artist’s own heartbeat.
Photo: Courtesy Casey Kaplan Gallery
Senatrix by Matthew Roney
Designed by hand and incorporating primarily basswood, artist Matthew Roney manipulates this sole material with various tools to produce an abstract sculptural design, revealing a deconstructed artful anatomy which was inspired by American folk art and influenced by a tradition of non-western art.
Photo: Ramiro Chaves
Ceyla (Cactus) by Claudia Comte
Crafted from Carrera marble, Claudia’s oeuvre typically incorporates biomorphic forms utilizing industrial technology processes. Comte’s main muses include waves, sonar, and of course cacti – which she playfully reworks to embody a more ecological influence.
Photo: Courtesy Mennour Gallery
Prismes et miroirs: Haut-relief-DBPF by Daniel Buren
Conceptual artist Daniel Buren is known for his minimalist mirror motifs. Created with a geometric pattern exhibiting a color block design, this mirror is crafted from 16 aluminum prisms and blue adhesive opaque vinyl, creating an optical illusion of striped rectangular prisms depending on which angle the reflective artwork is orientated.
Photo: Courtesy Marianne Boesky Gallery
Lot 110123 by Donald Moffett
Incredibly rich in both texture and color, this artwork is reminiscent of a bird house crafted from driftwood washed up on the beach. The artist assembled and reworked various pieces together to make the bird house look like a natural form, then beautifully embellished the piece in an ultramarine blue hue.
Photo: Tiffany Harrison, courtesy Schwarzwalder Gallery
Untitled by Michal Budny
In a showcase titled ‘Just Shut Your Eyes Tight, from the ABCs of everyday humanism,’ these neon-hued sculptures are inspired by the mundanity of how we typically experience nature, yet with a contemporary and artful twist. The statuesque green sculpture evokes resistance and stability, and the smaller ones also incorporate similar organic shapes, citing building blocks as a muse.
Photo: Courtesy of Gagosian Gallery
“Light for some time to come will have to be considered darkness.” \\\ “Throw roses into the abyss and say: ‘Here is my thanks to the monster who didn’t succeed in swallowing me alive.” \\\ “Our ancestors pay the price for who we are.” by Carol Bove
Carol Bove’s work is composed through the experimentation of modern metal sculpture. Influenced by industrial construction and architecture, and like many of her artworks, these monochrome blue sculptures are crafted from stainless steel and finished with a coat of urethane paint.
Photo: Courtesy Mennour Gallery
Tunnel-Tell (Ceci Sera) by Alicja Kwade
Working with varying juxtaposition of materials including granite, stainless steel, and concrete, Kwade’s work explores the connections among science, space, and time utilizing geometric and linear forms.
Photo: Courtesy Mennour Gallery
L’homme et l’enfant by Valentin Carron
With a playful approach to creating sculptural art that is universal yet also intimate and relatable, artist Valentin Carron makes figurines depicting anonymous human forms that are crafted from children’s modeling clay in vibrant color schemes, baked in his own oven, and then carved in wood or cast in aluminum.
Photo: Lance Brewer, courtesy of Marianne Boesky Gallery
Goldie by Jammie Holmes
Jammie Holmes is a self-taught painter whose work is inspired by his childhood growing up in the South, often depicting domestic scenarios and everyday life. Crafted from powder coated bronze and acrylic, this monochrome flower pot is one of his first experimentations in installation art and features floral motifs that have appeared in other recent works.
Tiffany Harrison is a multidisciplinary creative who is skilled in visual + literary storytelling. She immerses herself in artful endeavors with creative direction + design, drone videography, and prop styling. Tiffany’s work is super conceptual and is inspired by contemporary art, which she is truly passionate about. You can connect with Tiffany on her website and Instagram.
