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The Figure In and Out of Space

June 4–July 29, 2005
555 West 24th Street, New York

Sigmar Polke, The Ride on the Eight of Infinity, II (The Motorcycle Bride), 1969–71 Mixed media, 12' 6" × 15' 1" (381 × 460 cm)

Sigmar Polke, The Ride on the Eight of Infinity, II (The Motorcycle Bride), 1969–71

Mixed media, 12' 6" × 15' 1" (381 × 460 cm)

Jenny Saville, Shift, 1996–97 Oil on canvas, 130 × 130 inches (330 × 330 cm)

Jenny Saville, Shift, 1996–97

Oil on canvas, 130 × 130 inches (330 × 330 cm)

Georg Baselitz, Bilddrei, 1991 Oil on canvas, 112 ½ × 180 inches (285.8 × 457.2 cm)

Georg Baselitz, Bilddrei, 1991

Oil on canvas, 112 ½ × 180 inches (285.8 × 457.2 cm)

About

Gagosian is pleased to present an exhibition of major works by Georg Baselitz, Sigmar Polke, and Jenny Saville.

Three paintings are on display: Georg Baselitz’s Bilddrei (1991), Jenny Saville’s Shift (1996–97), and Sigmar Polke’s The Ride on the Eight of Infinity, II (The Motorcycle Bride) (1969–71). The juxtaposition of these works makes transparent the impact of space on the painted figure.

In Baselitz’s large-scale painting, outlines of genderless bodies levitate lifelessly, as forceful black blotches obliterate any unique characteristics. Saville’s Shift focuses on more realistic human flesh; despite the exposed skin, identities are clouded as bodies end at the neck and the two present faces are relegated to the edges of the canvas. In Polke’s work, a bright exploding tumbleweed of body parts and geometric shapes confounds the distinction between organic and inorganic.

Georg Baselitz and Richard Calvocoressi sit next to each other in the artist’s studio

In Conversation
Georg Baselitz and Richard Calvocoressi

In conjunction with the exhibition The Painter in His Bed, at Gagosian, New York, Georg Baselitz and Richard Calvocoressi discuss the motif of the stag in the artist’s newest paintings.  

Jenny Saville and Martin Gayford

In Conversation
Jenny Saville and Martin Gayford

Gagosian hosted a conversation between Jenny Saville and Martin Gayford, art critic and author, in conjunction with the exhibition Friends and Relations: Lucian Freud, Francis Bacon, Frank Auerbach, Michael Andrews at Gagosian, Grosvenor Hill, London. Gayford also spoke with the artist about her works in the exhibition Jenny Saville: Latent at Gagosian, rue de Castiglione, Paris.

Image of Jenny Saville standing in front of her artworks

Jenny Saville: Latent

In this video, Jenny Saville describes the evolution of her practice inside her latest exhibition, Latent, at Gagosian, Paris. She addresses the genesis of the title and reflects on the anatomy of a painting.

Installation view, Georg Baselitz: Archinto, Museo di Palazzo Grimani, Venice, May 19, 2021–November 27, 2022. Photo: Matteo De Fina

Georg Baselitz: Archinto

On the occasion of Georg Baselitz: Archinto at Museo di Palazzo Grimani, Venice, Artcore Films produced a short documentary featuring the artist. In the video, Baselitz details the origins of the project, how he approached the unique space, and his experiments in process and technique.

Baselitz: La rétrospective

Baselitz: La rétrospective

Richard Calvocoressi visits Georg Baselitz’s retrospective exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris and reflects on both the historical specificity and timeless themes of the artist’s sixty-year career.

Jenny Saville, Pietà I, 2019–21, charcoal and pastel on canvas

Jenny Saville: A cyclical rhythm of emergent forms

An exhibition curated by Sergio Risaliti, director of the Museo Novecento, Florence, pairs artworks by Jenny Saville with artists of the Italian Renaissance. On view across that city at the Museo Novecento, the Museo di Palazzo Vecchio, the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, the Museo degli Innocenti, and the Museo di Casa Buonarroti through February 20, 2022, the presentation features paintings and drawings by Saville from the 1990s through to work made especially for the occasion. Here, Risaliti reflects on the resonances and reverberations brought about by these pairings.