A Midwesterner as well, Vija Celmins (b. 1938) creates black-and-white photorealistic drawings and etchings of natural objects, landscapes, and cosmic entities. Over six decades, the American artist has developed a highly idiosyncratic practice, in which a stone is depicted with as much precision as galaxies or bodies of water. In the prints (made between 1971 and 1992) exhibited by Susan Sheehan Gallery, Celmins’ technical skills shine.

Patience and dedication also define the practice of Louise Fishman (b. 1939). Vielmetter Los Angeles will show six of her early paintings that have never been exhibited before. They are characterized by vigorous brushstrokes and influenced by Fishman’s feminism, lesbianism, Jewish identity, and her unquenched thirst for the arts in all their forms. These energetic canvases are prime examples of Fishman's continuous quest to develop a highly personal form of abstract art.

Galerie Buchholz’s Viewing Room is dedicated to Isa Genzken (b. 1948). The German artist is best known for her works featuring mannequins, mirrored surfaces, and variations of the world-famous Nefertiti Bust. But forty years ago, Genzken produced works of a different nature: narrow wooden sculptures based on computer-generated calculations. Buchholz’s presentation homes in on one of these elegant early works, shown with preparatory sketches and a photograph from that period.

In the 1960s, Italy’s art scene bloomed, as movements such as Arte Povera rose to the fore. Cardi Gallery's booth emphasizes the importance of Italian artists in the second half of the 20th century. It includes works by Jannis Kounellis (1936–2017), Giulio Paolini (b. 1940), and Michelangelo Pistoletto (b. 1933), key representatives of Arte Povera, an artistic movement that emphasized natural and 'poor' materials; Mimmo Rotella (1918–2006), who played an important role in 1960s Parisian avant-garde movements; Mimmo Paladino (b. 1948), one of the most famous representatives of the Transavanguardia painting group, which in the 1970s and 1980s aimed to counteract the dominance of conceptual art; and Gino De Dominicis (1947–1998), who in his practice combined elements from all these artistic currents, while refusing to be associated with any of them.

Giò Marconi’s virtual booth features lively paintings by Valerio Adami (b. 1935), Enrico Baj (1924–2003), Hsiao Chin (b. 1935), Lucio Del Pezzo (b.1933–2020), Mario Schifano (1934–1998), and Emilio Tadini (1927–2002). Influenced by Pop Art and Dada, these artists were among the first to exhibit with Studio Marconi, a gallery founded in 1965 by Giò Marconi’s father, to whom this presentation pays tribute. Their works also show the influence of 1960s Milan’s dynamic design and publishing scenes on artists.

At the same time, Viennese Actionism shocked Austrians, forever transforming the country’s conception of what art could be. Blood, nudity, and excrement characterized its anti-bourgeois performances that sometimes saw its chief protagonists hauled away by the police. Galerie Krinzinger’s Viewing Room features works by some of the movement’s most well-known representatives: photographs of performances by Günter Brus (b. 1938), Otto Mühl (1925–2013), and Rudolf Schwarzkogler (1940–1969) as well as a painting by Hermann Nitsch (b. 1938). The Viennese Actionists’ visceral oeuvres influenced performance grandees such as Chris Burden (1946–2015) and Marina Abramović (b. 1946), whose works are also included in the booth. 

The later decades of the 20th century saw many Latin American artists address the continent’s political turmoil in their practice. Six eloquent examples compose Galería Isabel Aninat’s Viewing Room. The emancipation of Brazilian women is central to the work of Analivia Cordeiro (b. 1954), while Chilean artist collective C.A.D.A. (Art Actions Collective, founded 1979) and Carlos Leppe (1952–2015) address the oppression of marginalized individuals, such as the widows of the Pinochet regime’s opponents and members of the LGBTQI+ community. In addition, two lush paintings by Eugenio Téllez (b. 1939) hint at the region’s colonial conquest and its irreversible consequences.

The 1980s and 1990s were also a period of newly found freedom in Brazil, which transitioned from a military dictatorship to a democracy in 1985. Fortes D’Aloia & Gabriel will show works by five female Brazilian artists who emerged during these years – all of which have since then achieved recognition. What unites the sculptures, paintings, and installations of Leda Catunda (b. 1961), Jac Leirner (b. 1961), Beatriz Milhazes (b. 1960), Valeska Soares (b. 1957), and Adriana Varejão (b. 1964) is their exploration of Brazilian history, identity, and heritage, often by using organic or found materials.

Michael Rosenfeld Gallery titled its presentation ‘Figuring America’. Featuring paintings by Benny Andrews (1930–2006), Milton Avery (1885–1965), Beauford Delaney (1901–1979), a charcoal drawing by Charles White (1918–1979), as well as sculptures by Richmond Barthé (1901–1989) and Nancy Grossman(b. 1940), it forms a small survey of striking Postwar American portraiture. By showcasing a diverse group of artists, many of which actively expressed their political views throughout their careers, the gallery’s ‘OVR:20c’ presentation not only reflects on the past but also resonates with the present.

'OVR:20c’ opens to designated VIPs on Wednesday, October 28, 12 noon CET. Public days will follow from Friday, October 30, 12 noon CET to Saturday, October 31, 12 midnight CET.

Discover all galleries participating in ‘OVR:20c’ here.