FÉTICHE

February 26 – April 16, 2016

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Installation view of FÉTICHE, New York, Venus Over Manhattan, 2016

Press Release

Fétiche
February 26 - April 16, 2016
Opening: Friday, February 26th, 6:00 - 8:00 pm

VENUS
980 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10075

Fétiche (n.): Objet culturel auquel sont attribuées des propriétés surnaturelles bénéfiques pour son possesseur. (“An object of cultural significance whose supernatural powers are beneficial to its owner.”)

(New York, NY) – VENUS is pleased to present Fétiche, a group show juxtaposing contemporary Western art with historic African and Oceanic works to examine the literal power that art objects confer. In the early Twentieth Century, African and Oceanic objects were popular collectibles and a source of inspiration for many European artists. Picasso references African aesthetics in several Cubist masterpieces, most notably Les Desmoiselles d’Avignon. Oceanic works from New Guinea and the Pacific Islands are frequently referenced in Surrealist art, and were collected by artists and poets such as Alexander Calder and André Breton. African and Oceanic works often exist in a mystical or religious context, though in most instances their exact function remains unknown. Collectors have historically stripped them of their native contexts, instead focusing on their aesthetic “otherness.” Today, these objects exist as curios or spoils of colonialism—rare and exotic souvenirs of cultures forever disrupted by the advance of Western civilization.

The modern and contemporary works included in the show have no overt spiritual or mystical purpose. Though not religious in a traditional sense, there is significant financial and metaphysical value placed on contemporary art, and its ownership grants power via social status and prestige. The various motivations to possess art are seldom explored, though the entire art market relies upon a system of beliefs that highlights issues of relevancy, timeliness, and critical consensus. Fétiche explores the ways in which contemporary and indigenous works bestow authority and power within significantly different social structures.

Fétiche will include a broad array of significant African and Oceanic works alongside important post-war and contemporary art by artists including Andisheh Avini, Huma Bhabha, Will Boone, Bernard Buffet, Alexander Calder, Elaine Cameron-Weir, Maurizio Cattelan, Walter Dahn, Jean Dubuffet, Jimmie Durham, Llyn Foulkes, Mark Grotjahn, David Hammons, Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, David Medalla, Francis Picabia, Richard Prince, Lucas Samaras, and Andra Ursuta.

For further information about the exhibition and availability, please contact the gallery at info@venusovermanhattan.com

For all press inquiries related to the exhibition, please contact Prentice Cultural Communications by e-mail at bettina@prenticeart.com, or nicole@prenticeart.com; or by telephone at + 1 (212) 228-4048

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Selected Works

Selected Works Thumbnails

Andisheh Avini
Untitled, 2015
wood and marquetry
14 1/4 x 11 1/4 x 2 in

36.2 x 28.6 x 5.1 cm

Bamana Hyena Mask, Mali

19 x 8 x 8 in
48.3 x 20.3 x 20.3 cm

Bamana Kono Mask, Mali

37 x 14 x 9 in
94 x 35.6 x 22.9 cm

Baule Goli Mask, Ivory Coast

32 x 21 x 5 in
81.3 x 53.3 x 12.7 cm

Huma Bhabha
Legs, and Arms, and Heads, 2008

clay, wire, Styrofoam, wood, aluminum, iron, plastic, acrylic paint
62 x 41 x 22 in
157.5 x 104.1 x 55.9 cm

Will Boone
Booger Mask, 2014

acrylic paint on canvas

41 x 35 in
104.1 x 88.9 cm

Bernard Buffet
La Mort 8, 1999
oil on canvas
77 3/4 x 45 in
197.5 x 114.3 cm

Alexander Calder

Untitled, 1953
ink on paper
29 1/2 x 42 1/2 in

74.9 x 108 cm

Alexander Calder

Untitled, 1972
gouache and ink on paper

43 1/4 x 10 in

109.9 x 25.4 cm

Elaine Cameron-Weir
Venus Anadyomene 3, 2014
clam, neon, transformer, ceramic, olive oil, mica, wick, sand, incense, brass, chain
clam: 13 x 32 x 23 in (33 x 81 x 58 cm)
brass rod: dimensions variable

Maurizio Cattelan
Untitled, 2007
resin, paint, human hair, garment, packing tissue, wood and screws

92 3/4 x 54 x 18 1/2 in
235.6 x 137.2 x 47 cm
edition 2 of 3

Walter Dahn
Untitled (Don Quixote), 1985

oil on canvas
98 x 78 in
248.9 x 198.1 cm

Jean Dubuffet
Site aléatoire avec un personnage, 1982
acrylic on paper with collage on canvas
26 1/4 x 39 1/4 in
66.7 x 99.7 cm

Jimmie Durham

A Staff To Mark The Center Of The World, Gwangju Biennale, 2004

carved wooden sticks, mixed media, artist’s handwritten notes, in three parts

each: 78 3/4 x 4 in

each: 200 x 10 cm

Jimmie Durham

Home At Last, Home At Last, Home At Last, 2012
stone, canvas, acrylic paint
10 5/8 x 7 1/2 x 7 1/2 in

27 x 19.1 x 19.1 cm

Llyn Foulkes
Who’s on Third, 1971-73

oil on canvas
48 x 39 in
121.9 x 99.1 cm

Mark Grotjahn

Untitled (Three Sided with X Out of Shell Standing Flat SF4.a), 2013

bronze, ceramic shell
32 x 24 x 7 in

81.3 x 61 x 17.8 cm

David Hammons

Untitled (Dung), 1983-85

elephant dung and paint

6 x 6 x 6 in
15.2 x 15.2 x 15.2 cm

Damien Hirst
Doubt, 1994
glass, stainless steel and surgical instruments
70 7/8 x 35 7/16 x 14 3/16 in

180 x 90 x 36 cm

Ivory Initiation Figurine, Lega, Democratic Republic of Congo

ivory
11 x 4 x 3 in

27.9 x 10.2 x 7.6 cm

Jeff Koons
Ushering in Banality, 1988

polychromed wood
38 x 62 x 30 in
96.5 x 157.5 x 76.2 cm
edition of 3

Late Classic Dayak Figure, A.D. 1264-1291
49 x 9 x 9 in
124.5 x 22.9 x 22.9 cm

David Medalla
Sand Machine, 1963/2015
sand, shell necklace, bamboo, wood, wire and electrical wiring
27 1/2 x 23 1/2 x 23 1/2 in
69.9 x 59.7 x 59.7 cm