Independent 20th Century, which returns for its second edition September 7-10, 2023 in New York City and online, is pleased to announce a dynamic program of talks taking place during the fair. Programming coincides with the various themes that will be presented throughout Independent 20th Century, with topics including Andy Warhol commissioned portraits (by Vito Schnabel), Black Art Communities from 1960-1980, the New York art scene in the 1950s, and the work of artist Ed Baynard (by James Fuentes). Speakers include notable artists, curators and critics who will present diverse and thought-provoking discussions. The talks are intended to reframe and broaden our understanding of the canon and spark conversations that are long overdue. Three of the talks will be released as episodes of a new podcast entitled Previously Unknown via Spotify and Apple Music in early September. Salon Independent is generously sponsored by Pommery Champagne.
SALON INDEPENDENT SCHEDULE OF PROGRAMS
Ed Baynard: Promiscuous Blossoms
Friday, September 8 at 3 PM
Featuring Vince Aletti, Critic and Curator and Dietmar Busse, Artist and Co-trustee of the Baynard Estate Moderated by Matthew Higgs, Founding Curatorial Advisor of Independent and Director & Chief Curator of White Columns.
The discussion will revolve around the work of the artist Ed Baynard, whose work will be presented by James Fuentes Gallery in a solo presentation at the fair. Baynard’s signature floral still-life paintings and prints recall the Japanese tradition of Ukiyo-e in their restrained elegance. His stylized compositions of flowers, plants, and vessels place bursts of color and trompe l’oeil details against flat monochrome backgrounds, infusing romantic subject matter with minimalist form. A publication on Baynard’s work organized by the gallery will launch, featuring an essay by critic Vince Aletti.
Popping the Question: Andy Warhol Commissioned Portraits
Friday, September 8 at 5 PM
Featuring Bob Colacello, Writer, Curator, & Photographer, moderated by Michael Dayton Hermann, Artist and Director of Licensing, Marketing, and Sales at The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, with Donna De Salvo, Dia Art Foundation’s Senior Adjunct Curator of Special Projects & Curator of Andy Warhol--From A to B and Back Again at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.
Bob Colacello, editor of Andy Warhol's Interview from 1970 to 1983, was encouraged by the “boss” to sell his commissioned portraits. Selling these portraits meant what Andy called “popping the question,” that is, suggesting to wealthy socialites and celebrities that they have Andy do their portrait. For the Independent 20th Century, Vito Schnabel Gallery's presentation brings together ten of these commissioned portraits, curated by Colacello. Colacello, Donna De Salvo and moderator Michael Hermann will engage in a conversation centered on this particular aspect of Warhol’s oeuvre. The live talk will be recorded for a future podcast.
The New York Scene in the 1950s: An American Bloomsbury?
Saturday, September 9 at 2 PM
Featuring Prudence Peiffer, Art Historian and Author, Yuval Etgar, PhD., Director of Research and Exhibitions, Luxembourg + Co, and Klaus Ottmann, Independent Curator, Writer, Translator and Adjunct Curator of the Collection at the Parrish Art Museum and Chief Curator Emeritus of The Phillips Collection. Moderated by Deborah Solomon, Critic, Journalist and Biographer.
Deborah Solomon will grapple with the New York Scene in the 1950s and its importance art historically within the canon of American art in a discussion with Prudence Peiffer, Yuval Etgar and Klaus Ottmann, with presentations by participating galleries Alexandre (artists: Loren MacIver and Edith Schloss), Hervé Bize (artist: Jack Youngerman), Luxembourg + Co. (artist: Alice Baber), Van Doren Waxter (artists: James Brooks, Hedda Sterne and Jack Tworkov), and Venus Over Manhattan (Alexander Calder).
Black Art Communities, 1960 – 1980
Saturday, September 9 at 4 PM
Featuring Rujeko Hockley, Arnold Associate Curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art, Dindga McCannon, Artist and Tschabalala Self, Artist. Moderated by Larry Ossei-Mensah, Curator and Co-Founder of ARTNOIR.
Women and Black artists of the 1960s to 1980s faced systemic barriers to showing and selling their work alongside their white male peers. Marginalized by the mainstream art world, these artists embraced political activism and community organizing during an era marked by the civil rights and feminist movements. Their accomplishments are still coming to light decades later. Larry Ossei-Mensah will moderate a discussion with curator Rujeko Hockley and artists Dindga McCannon and Tschabalala Self on the importance of community-building to artists such as Camille Billops, Vivian Browne, McCannon, and Myrtle Williams, whose work will be exhibited at Independent 20th Century, and how their legacy is felt in today’s contemporary art world.
FORTHCOMING PODCASTS
SERIES TITLE: PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN
Episode 1: The Future of Artists' Archives
Featuring Lisa Darms, Executive Director of Hauser & Wirth Institute and John Tain, Head of Research at Asia Art Archive
In 2021, the nonprofit Hauser & Wirth Institute awarded a grant to Hong Kong-based Asia Art Archive to process and digitize the archives of Pakistani artist Zahoor ul Akhlaq. The project is now near completion, and selections from the archives will be on view as one of two artists’ papers being exhibited at the Institute’s booth at Independent 20th Century. For this episode of Previously Unknown, the Institute’s Executive Director Lisa Darms spoke with Asia Art Archive’s Head of Research, John Tain, about how we define archives; the emotional complexities of working with personal papers; and the importance of rethinking models of documentation to better represent artists and communities who have been left out of or misrepresented by mainstream collecting.
Episode 2: On Marie Laurencin
Featuring Cindy Kang, curator, the Barnes Foundation and Simonetta Fraquelli, consulting curator for the Barnes, and Maureen Dougherty, Artist. Moderated by Julia Halperin, Journalist.
A conversation moderated by Julia Halperin with artist Maureen Dougherty, and Cindy Kang and Simonetta Fraquelli, co-curators of Marie Laurencin: Sapphic Paris (October 22, 2023 –January 21, 2024) at the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, the first major US exhibition dedicated to French artist Marie Laurencin in over 30 years. The talk will center on Marie Laurencin’s unique contributions to modern art in conjunction with Nahmad Contemporary’s solo presentation of her paintings from the 1920s and 1930s at Independent 20th Century. This body of work illuminates Laurencin’s distinct artistic language within the male-dominated avant-garde circles of early 20th-century Paris.
Episode 3: Popping the Question: Andy Warhol Commissioned Portraits