Bruce Silverstein Gallery presents a selection of masterworks by André Kertész at Art Basel 46. The exhibition will serve as a retrospective of the artist’s career, and the work on view will change during the run of the fair in order to highlight the primary facets and developments of his practice. Beginning with his early photographs in Hungary over 100 years ago, the artist’s revered Paris period will follow, leading to his well-known New York images taken from his apartment window, concluding with the artist’s final Polaroids. A special focus will be placed on Kertész’s images of his wife Elizabeth – his consistent emotional and financial supporter.
We will feature the finest extant prints of his most historically significant works including: Chez Mondrian, 1926; Stairs of Montmartre, 1925; Leger’s Studio, 1926; Fork, 1928; a suite of images from his Distortions series, 1933; and a rare vintage example of his most iconic New York image, Washington Square Day, 1954. This exhibition will afford visitors to Art Basel a comprehensive understanding of this well-loved artist and extend beyond the typical art fair experience.
André Kertész’s ability to construct lyrical images, infused with wit and insight would remain a constant throughout his long career. Born in Budapest, Hungary in 1894, he started his photographic career during his late teens, moving to Paris in 1925 where he established himself as a successful artist working alongside major figures such as Fernand Léger, Piet Mondrian and Constantin Brancusi. Kertész relocated to New York in 1936 to further his career, but it wasn’t until the 1970s that he became once more a major figure in the fine art photography world. By the year of his death in 1985, he had been honored with numerous awards and solo exhibitions worldwide. Since 2003, Kertész’s work has been the subject of seven shows at the Bruce Silverstein Gallery and the gallery is the exclusive New York representative of the André Kertész Estate.
Permanent collections which hold works by the artist include the Art Institute of Chicago; Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburg; Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, London; International Center for Photography, New York; National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Art Institute of Chicago; Bibliothèque National, Paris; Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest; Musée National d’Art Moderne du Centre George Pompidou, Paris; The Getty Center, Los Angeles; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.; Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona, Spain; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; National Museum of Modern Art Tokyo, Japan; and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
Kertész has more than twenty books published in his name, amongst them On Reading (2008), André Kertész: His Life and Work (1994), Kertész on Kertész: A Self-Portrait (1985), Washington Square (1975) and J’aime Paris: Photographs Since the Twenties (1974).
Established in 2001, Bruce Silverstein Gallery’s principle focus is the representation of an international roster of contemporary artists as well as established artists of great influence. The gallery is committed to discovering, examining and contextualizing known and unknown artwork by modern masters, as well as innovative artists of today. The gallery maintains an in-depth inventory of masterworks of the photographic medium and strives to provide a venue for dialogue across all art forms.
EXHIBITION
A Retrospective by André Kertész
June 18-21, 2015
Art Basel 46
Bruce Silverstein Gallery
Booth D16
Basel
Switzerland
