From Poland to Peru it was an outstanding show at Art Basel Miami 2022. Polish painter Wilhelm Sasnal's tenebrous painting left many questions unanswered. All we see are shoes and legs, maybe platform sandals suggesting it might be summertime but even that Sasnal leaves us to question. Who are these people and why are they meeting. It could be anywhere, a get together of sorts, the shadows overwhelming what little we can decipher. Meanwhile Marius Bercea's Fruitful monologues is an idyllic vision of the Romanian landscape juxtaposed against a young couple relaxing by the side of the lake. They are detached from the land and dressed up and far from a conversation. Oblivious to each other, they are there to be looked at, a contrast one could say between the country and the youthful ambition of the subjects themselves. Israeli artist Doron Langberg's Ilan's Garden is a luscious take on nature unhinged and in full bloom. It is a restful place despite its wild roots. The colours are vibrant and alive and show a sensuality of sorts underneath it all. African American artist Kerry James Marshall's Supermodel is a magnificent rendering of a young black woman in her undergarments. Marshall who paints in three shades of black wanted to give light to the conspicuous being we see before us. She's stripped of a background and instead asks us to see her for what she is. She's not a supermodel and the opposite of that stereotype. She's rendered deeply and her details deliver slowly to the viewer. We don't know who she is but wonder why she's dressed they way she is. We want to see more of her but Marshall keeps us guessing. It's easy to see why Sean Combs paid $21.1 million for one of Marshall's paintings. He paints black subjects with dignity and an aura of mystery always questioning their place in art history. That is why his legacy is well cemented and storied in our time. Danish artist Alexander Tovborg's Madonna of Solitude is a great abstract work full of bold colours and biomorphic shapes. We can see a face but that is all, the body is cut apart and we wonder we are looking at. The question is religion, but whose? There are no clear answers, the work remains mystical to the viewer. Peruvian artist, William Cordova, paints like Caio Fonseca and his Untitled, 2022 painting shows similar genius. His triangular shapes seem arbitrary at first but then blend well and we see they are intentional. Cordova paints between different cities always questioning the identity of each one. What we see is his interpretation of those locations. I wish I could write about all of these works as they all have something to offer but I'll let the viewer ask their own questions. Please enjoy these works and wait for more.
1 Wilhelm Sasnal, TBD, 2022, Polish
