\n<\/strong>Represented by Irreversible Projects (at Spectrum) and Untitled Projects (at SCOPE)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
While living and working in cities and countries around the world, Miami artist Natalya Kochak observed that the people in each residence were different, yet all shared common passions and pains. As a response, she uses consistent and predictable tools like printmaking to demonstrate our commonalities, yet produces works that emphasize and celebrate our imperfections. In an interview with Art Zealous, Kochak explained: “Identity is the most important thing we know as individuals, but it is lost in everything we do in our society,\u201d so her works discuss issues of identity in our culture. The \u201cLittle Vixens\u201d series is inspired by the influx of young girls \u201cposing sexy\u201d on the Internet. Every three prints are based on a single individual \u2013 the first is a solid portrait; the second, what Kochak calls \u201cdouble vision\u201d; and a third is abstracted. The first 15 works in the series (which consists of 30 pieces so far) are on display with Irreversible Projects. An unrelated large-scale piece, \u201cContemplation and Exhilaration,\u201d can also be viewed\u00a0with Untitled Projects.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
2. OLAF METZEL <\/p>\n German artist Olaf Metzel\u2019s large-scale sculptural installations address everyday social issues by transferring enlarged newspaper articles onto folded aluminum and stainless steel. For instance, “Time (Latin America Edition, August 20, 1965)” depicts the events of Los Angeles riots in 1965. He gives new context to the news \u2013 shaping both the viewers\u2019 perspective and the physical materials of the sculpture. Olaf is selective in the news topics he portrays, thereby influencing the message that his viewers receive. By working with elements of \u201cyesterday\u2019s\u201d newspaper (a material that is often thrown away), he gives it new purpose by transforming the contents of the paper into a piece of contemporary cultural commentary. He folds the sculptures\u2019 sturdy aluminum in a way that is unnatural, much like the crumpling of an old newspaper being discarded. In doing so, he immortalizes the subjects on the page. Giving a new perspective to the news as a piece of resurfaced history prompts the viewer to digest powerful socio-cultural topics. Five wall sculptures are on view with Wentrup; another is represented by Galerie Kl\u00fcser.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 3. SPENCER FINCH <\/p>\n New Haven, CT artist Spencer Finch\u2019s artistic approach acknowledges the poetic nature of scientific methodology. In \u201cStudy for Goldberg Variation 1, 2, 3,\u201d he makes tangible a correlation between the color spectrum and the musical scale that was founded by Sir Isaac Newton. Bringing to fruition Newton\u2019s color wheel, in which colors were assigned to musical notes, Finch translates Johann Sebastian Bach\u2019s \u201cGoldberg Variations No. 1, 2, 3\u201d into color. The three pairs of shining fluorescent lights each represent the first few minutes of one \u201cGoldberg Variation\u201d \u2013 the top light signifies the left hand on the piano, the bottom light signifies the right hand. Finch\u2019s keen sense of observation is also clear in his \u201cFollowing a Bee\u201d series of oil pastel drawing. This set of three drawings trace the flight path of bees collecting pollen from different flowers in Finch\u2019s garden: Helianthus, Zinnia, Hydrangea.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 4. TONY CRAGG <\/p>\n British sculptor Tony Cragg was known for his found object installations in the \u201880s before later gravitating toward a stronger focus on the form, material and shape of his works. Now engaging with sturdy materials like bronze, wood and stainless steel, he casts unlikely forms that appear to be liquid \u2013 futuristic yet familiar, figurative yet abstract \u2013 in which the appearance of the human profile is often eluded to in the work\u2019s overall structure. These abstractions question the viewers\u2019 opinion of the way something \u201cshould\u201d look. Vertical towers of fluid-looking materials remain contained and stationary while seeming to twist, bend and spin as though on an imaginary axis.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Represented by Wentrup (Booth B28) and Galerie Kl\u00fcser<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n![\""Avalanche](\"http:\/\/artzealous.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Art-Basel-2015_Olaf-Metzel_Avalanche-Summer-1975-e1448857323890.jpg\")
<\/a>
\n<\/strong>Represented by Galerie Nordenhake (Booth H9)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/a>
\n<\/strong>Represented by Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac (Booth C11)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/a>