ART BASEL

Art Basel Online Viewing Rooms

18 — 25 March, 2020  

Twenty years ago Jensen Gallery made an exhibition titled Six Degrees of Separation. It included the work of Imi Knoebel, Helmut Federle, Gunter Umberg, Callum Innes and Karin Sander. The assumption was that there were multiple points of connection – a kind of conceptual and aesthetic DNA that they all shared despite their differing points of genesis. Once assembled however, the exhibition steadily revealed difference rather than similarity. The closer one looked the more disparate the work became and the individuality and character of the works was the lasting impression.

Twenty years hence we are re-making that exhibition, albeit with just Knoebel and Innes remaining from that initial project. They are now joined by Hanns Kunitzberger (AT), Erin Lawlor (UK), Liat Yossifor (USA), Jan Albers (GER) and Tomislav Nikolic (AUS) in a vibrant new exploration of abstract painting. Once again threads of connection feel deeply entwined but the reality is that seeing them all together our experience starts to abrade and we see that the distinction and singularity define these artists work. Though each make works that join a long and nuanced conversation about painting and perception they retain an exceptional personality.