Exhibitions – Sprüth Magers

Arthur Jafa
nativemanson
September 14–December 14, 2024

Los Angeles

Across three decades, Jafa has developed a dynamic practice comprising films, artefacts and happenings that reference and question the universal and specific articulations of Black being. Monika Sprüth and Philomene Magers are honored to present the LA-based artist’s first solo gallery exhibition in Los Angeles, featuring recent wall works, sculptures and moving images, including Jafa’s latest film, BG, his deft remix of Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver, in which Jafa performs an exorcism on the film (and by extension the American unconsciousness) to foreground the Spook that Haunts the American Psyche.

John Baldessari
Ahmedabad 1992
September 14–November 2, 2024

Berlin

Throughout John Baldessari’s prolific and impactful career, he consistently examined and defied the expectations that influence our perception of art. His unique methodology in the realms of painting, photography, source materials, and text redefined and challenged conventional art historical limitations, making him a pioneer of American Conceptualism. Drawing from a wide range of sources – advertising, film culture, Marcel Duchamp, and Ludwig Wittgenstein – he created absurdist, complex yet accessible juxtapositions. Monika Sprüth and Philomene Magers are pleased to present the second iteration of Ahmedabad 1992, a solo exhibition of an alluring series of mixed media assemblages Baldessari produced during his residency in India. For the first time in decades, a selection from this unique period in the artist’s oeuvre was initially shown during summer 2024 at the London gallery. Introducing the body of work to Berlin viewers, Ahmedabad 1992 will travel to the gallery’s German space for Berlin Art Week. An accompanying catalogue will be published to mark the occasion.

Oliver Bak
Ghost Driver, or The Crowned Anarchist
September 14–November 2, 2024

Berlin

The mystical scenes of painter Oliver Bak unite the spirits of the past and present. Drawing from fiction and the real, mythology and life, and the tangible and the subconscious, he constructs enigmatic narratives by conflating different fragments of reality. Bak’s pictorial worlds are propelled by constant synthesis and anchored in a deep understanding of the medium’s history. His mottled brushwork and magnetic use of colour evoke the dreamlike works of Symbolist, Surrealist and Nabi painters. Plants seem to sprout from the surface of his canvases and empyrean figures emerge from between leafy areas and flecks of light, breaking down spatial categories. Monika Sprüth and Philomene Magers are pleased to present Bak’s first exhibition at the Berlin gallery, marking the Danish artist’s debut show in Germany.

Gary Hume
Mirrors and other creatures
September 13–October 19, 2024

London

Sprüth Magers is pleased to present Mirrors and other creatures, a solo exhibition of new work by Gary Hume at the London gallery. Encompassing painting, drawing and sculpture, the show presents Hume’s distinctive approach to the natural world.

The exhibition coincides with the 25th anniversary of Gary Hume representing Great Britain at the Venice Biennale, and runs concurrently with two additional shows of Hume’s work — THIS WAY / THAT WAY, Gary Hume: paintings from the 90s at Hazlitt Holland-Hibbert and Gary Hume: A Selection of Prints From 1994–2022 at Lyndsey Ingram. The three galleries are within a five-minute walking radius.

Anthony McCall
Raised Voices
September 13–December 21, 2024

London

Sprüth Magers is pleased to present Raised Voices, an exhibition by Anthony McCall featuring the UK premiere of a new solid light work alongside drawings from throughout his career. McCall’s ‘solid light works’ occupy a space between cinema, sculpture and drawing, with beams of light creating sculptural forms as they are projected through mist within the space. The viewer becomes an active participant in the work, dissected by an undulating light that slowly shifts and changes. The exhibition coincides with two major solo shows of McCall’s work at Tate Modern and Guggenheim Bilbao.

Jenny Holzer
WORDS
September 5–November 2, 2024

New York

Monika Sprüth and Philomene Magers are pleased to present WORDS, a solo show of works by Jenny Holzer at Sprüth Magers’ New York gallery. Works on paper – text layouts and document tracings that began as preparatory drawings for stone benches and paintings – are presented in a salon-style hang punctuated by stoneworks, new paintings, and an LED installation featuring AI-generated text. Highlighting Holzer’s use of material and language, the exhibition offers a glimpse into the artist’s process from the 1980s through today.

Current Exhibitions