ART CITIES:Miami-Desire

Ed Ruscha, Desire, 2013, © Ed Ruscha, Photo by Benjamin Lee Ritchie Handler, Courtesy Gagosian
Ed Ruscha, Desire, 2013, © Ed Ruscha, Photo by Benjamin Lee Ritchie Handler, Courtesy Gagosian

The Moore Building, located in the heart of the Design District in MIami, is an historic venue was built in 1921 as the furniture showroom space for Moore & Sons. On permanent display in the atrium is the site-specific installation “Elastika” by Zaha Hadid and commissioned by Dacra president Craig Robins.

By Efi Michalarou
Photo: Gagosian Gallery Archive

On the occasion of Art Basel Miami, Jeffrey Deitch and Larry Gagosian join their forces for their second joint exhibition project “Desire” at the Moore Building, following the exhibition “Unrealism” that was on presentation in the same space last year. The exhibition explores modern and contemporary approaches to eroticism in art. “Desire” features the work of more than 50 artists from Modern Masters to emerging talents. Joe Coleman, Gaspar Noé, and Tschabalala Self are among those who have created new works specifically for this exhibition. Among the oldest surviving examples of erotic depictions are Paleolithic cave paintings and carvings. The ancient Greeks painted sexual scenes on their ceramics, and there are numerous sexually explicit paintings on the walls of ruined Roman buildings in Pompeii. Additionally, there has been a long tradition of erotic painting in Eastern cultures. In Japan, for example, shunga appeared in the 13th Century and continued to grow until the late 19th Century when photography was invented. Similarly, the erotic art of China reached its popular peak during the latter part of the Ming Dynasty. In India, the famous Kama Sutra is an ancient sex manual that is still popularly read throughout the world. In Europe, starting with the Renaissance, there was a tradition of producing erotica for the amusement of the aristocracy. As the representation of eroticism has evolved in society, boundaries are tested, bringing to life artistic fantasies and unprecedented imagery. Eroticism reinvents itself with every subsequent generation. Eroticism fuses together opposing and complementary concepts: form and feeling, spirit and body, intellect and emotion. It is at once the most accessible and most challenging subject in art. Its portrayal can be theoretical, abstract, romantic, carnal, or all of these combined. It may be infused with humor, anxiety, or terror. It can be subtle or brash, creating tension between artist, subject and viewer. In modern and contemporary art, eroticism often elicits feelings of unease, in the navigation between the male and female gazes, and between voyeurism and self-exposure. Sometimes, the art that explores eroticism in the least expected way possesses the strongest erotic charge. Artists exhibited include: Nobuyoshi Araki, Balthus, Vanessa Beecroft, Hans Bellmer, Cecily Brown, Joe Coleman, William N. Copley, R. Crumb, John Currin, John DeAndrea Urs Fischer & Georg Herold, Eric Fischl, Nan Goldin, Keith Haring, Barkley L. Hendricks, Noritoshi Hirakawa, Alex Israel & Bret Easton Ellis, pascALEjandro Jodorowsky, Allen Jones, Jeff Koons, Harmony Korine, Deana Lawson, Roy Lichtenstein, Man Ray, Malerie Marder, Marilyn Minter, Pierre Molinier, Carlo Mollino, Helmut Newton, Gaspar Noé, Eddie Peake, Francis Picabia, Pablo Picasso, Diego Rivera, Walter Robinson, Ed Ruscha, David Salle, Jenny Saville, Kenny Scharf, Tschabalala Self, Hajime Sorayama, Eric Stanton, Juergen Teller, Tom of Finland, Andy Warhol, John Wesley, Jordan Wolfson, Martin Wong and Francesca Woodman.

Info: Curator: Diana Widmaier-Picasso, The Moore Building, Miami Design District, 191 NE 40th Street, Miami, Duration:30/11-4/12/16, Hours: Wed-Sat (30/11-4/12/16) 10:00-20:00, Sun (4/12/16) 10:00-18:00

Alex Israel & Bret Easton Ellis, Trent Looked at Tara, 2016, © Alex Israel and Bret Easton Ellis, Image Courtesy iStock and Gagosian, Photography: Josh White/JWPictures.com
Alex Israel & Bret Easton Ellis, Trent Looked at Tara, 2016, © Alex Israel and Bret Easton Ellis, Image Courtesy iStock and Gagosian, Photography: Josh White/JWPictures.com