Contemporary Art Shows In August 2024 For Minimalist Art Lovers

This August, a month typically characterized by a slower pace in the art world, nevertheless offers some outstanding exhibitions for lovers of minimalist art.

Let’s start in Los Angeles, where Gemini G.E.L. is presenting selected sculptures by Isamu Noguchi alongside Richard Serra’s “Hitchcock Series”. At the same time, Galerie Friese in Berlin is showing abstract works by the German artist Robert Schad. The architectural sculptures by Larry Bell from the 1970s can be seen at Hauser & Wirth in Monaco. In Hong Kong, White Cube Gallery is presenting an introspective exhibition of Lee Jin Woo, while in Palma de Mallorca, the monochrome works of Frank Gerritz can be explored. And finally, the fourth solo exhibition of Imi Knoebel can be seen at De Brock Gallery in Knokke from the beginning of August.

These are my favorites for this month. If you want to explore all shows, click here.

Gemini G.E.L. is pleased to present a selection of sculptures by Isamu Noguchi alongside Richard Serra’s Hitchcock series. Created between 1982 and 1983, Isamu Noguchi’s sculptures combine industrial materials with organic forms, reflecting a synthesis of nature and space. They are an example of Noguchi’s ability to transform everyday materials into appealing works of art.

Additionally, Richard Serra’s Hitchcock series, which includes elegant sketches and oil paintings, will be on display. These works emerge from Serra’s creative process of drawing and self-reflection on his sculptures. The exhibition celebrates a fifty-year collaboration between Serra and Gemini G.E.L., which highlights the versatility and craftsmanship of both artists.

More information: https://www.aesence.com/exhibition/isamu-noguchi-richard-serra/

Galerie Friese is presenting the work of the important German sculptor Robert Schad (b.1953) for the first time in Berlin. Schad is known for his large-scale, abstract steel sculptures, which are often reminiscent of organic forms. He uses solid square steel bars in his works, which he welds together to create dynamic and often seemingly weightless sculptures.

His works invite the viewer to engage with different perspectives and spatial perceptions. The exhibition shows the interplay of inertia and dynamics, which allows the viewer to immerse themselves in the emotional worlds of heaviness and lightness.

I visited the exhibition in Berlin. Read my review here: https://www.aesence.com/dancing-steel-robert-schad-at-galerie-friese-berlin/

Hauser & Wirth Monaco presents works by American artist Larry Bell (b. 1939), which focuses on Bell’s architecturally scaled sculptures, the “standing walls”. These large-format works are part of his earliest and most ambitious works, when he abandoned the use of metal frames in his sculptures and instead used free-standing glass panels joined with silicone.

The exhibition features four glass artworks from the early 1970s, as well as the monumental wall installation “Moving Ways” from the late 1970s, which exemplifies Bell’s contribution to minimalist aesthetics and interaction with the viewer. A more recent glass work will be installed outdoors in the Jardins des Boulingrins.

More information: https://www.aesence.com/exhibition/larry-bell-works-from-the-1970s/

White Cube presents the first solo exhibition of Korean artist Lee Jin Woo (b. 1959) in Hong Kong. Lee, who lives in Paris, combines traditional Korean aesthetics with philosophical questions. His works, characterized by intuitive abstraction, are created through a labor-intensive process using charcoal and hanji paper, resulting in contemplative “landscapes”. The exhibition features both paintings and works on paper that explore themes such as concealment and the passage of time.

More Information: https://www.aesence.com/exhibition/inside-the-white-cube-lee-jin-woo/

Planta Noble / Casal Solleric in Palma de Mallorca is presenting the exhibition “Then and There” by the German artist Frank Gerritz (b. 1964).

Gerritz’s works are characterized by monochrome tonality, precise geometric compositions with the absence of any ornamentation. His works create an atmosphere of serenity and transcendence and offer a contemplative experience and examination of the phenomenology of perception. The exhibition will be on display until September 8, 2024.

More information: https://casalsolleric.palma.es/de/-/frank-gerritz-%C2%B7-then-and-there

De Brock presents his fourth solo exhibition with Imi Knoebel (b. 1940). Knoebel, a major pioneer of post-war German art, creates a unique contemporary visual vocabulary through abstract, minimalist and often monochrome painting. The artist uses plywood or metal plates as a base and explores the relationship between color and material. Since the 1990s, he has favored aluminum sheets and uses a wider range of colors as well as thick, pasty acrylic paints.

This exhibition includes works from three series that have been created since 2020 and reflect Knoebel’s love of experimentation.

More Information: https://www.debrockgallery.com/exhibitions/imi-knoebel-2024

See all exhibitions here