The art world in 2024 showcased groundbreaking sculptures and installations, blending innovative techniques and profound themes. Here are some of the most captivating and discussed pieces from major events.
Yayoi Kusama - Aspiring to Pumpkin’s Love, the Love in my Heart: This massive sculpture, consisting of two interconnected bronze pumpkins adorned with Kusama's signature dots, was presented by David Zwirner. The work symbolises infinity, fertility, and the sublime, continuing Kusama's long-standing pumpkin theme.
Alex Da Corte - Hell Hole: A conceptual installation featuring a wooden cabin with windows illuminated by neon lights, attracting significant viewer attention. This work explores themes of consumption and food politics).
Lutz Bacher - Chess: An installation featuring a chessboard with pieces including a camel, a tyrannosaurus, and Elvis Presley, presented by Galerie Buchholz. This work reflects 20th-century cultural and political icons through the lens of a chess game.
Sam Falls - Spring to Fall: This giant 66-foot-long painting, created using local plants and weather-reactive pigments, was one of the most impressive pieces at the exhibition. It captures the change of seasons in New York's Hudson Valley.
Vanessa German - HOPE, THE WEEPER, THE BOOMBOX: These sculptures, presented by Kasmin Gallery, include eight heads adorned with rose quartz crystals, gold jewelry, and accessories made of lapis lazuli and silver. The works explore themes of violence, grief, and healing through crystal symbolism.
Anish Kapoor - Mipa 5 Light to Prussian Blue Satin: A sculpture by Anish Kapoor, presented by Lisson Gallery, was one of the most expensive pieces at the exhibition, sold for $856,000. The work continues the artist's exploration of light and color.
Rachel Whiteread - Untitled (Book Corridors): Known for her evocative sculptures that capture the spaces around objects, Whiteread's work reflects on absence, memory, and the passage of time.
Es Devlin - Surfacing: This multimedia work, commissioned by BMW for Art Basel in Basel 2024, combines light, music, and water in a captivating installation. Collaborating with choreographer Sharon Eyal, Devlin explores fluid boundaries and creates a magical visual experience.
Olafur Eliasson - Firefly Biosphere (falling magma star): Exhibited at Azabudai Hills Gallery in Tokyo, Eliasson's work features looping abstractions formed from spiraling modules of interconnected polyhedra. This piece explores themes of motion, geometry, and time.
Julie Mehretu - Palazzo Grassi Exhibition: This extensive exhibition in Venice showcased over 60 paintings and prints, spanning 25 years of Mehretu’s work. It included new pieces produced between 2021 and 2023, highlighting the artist's exploration of displacement and its influence on her practice.
Sarah Sze - Victoria Miro Venice: Returning to Venice with her first show at Victoria Miro’s space, Sze presented two installations that took over the gallery and an adjacent apartment. Her work continued to explore themes of transition and the ephemeral nature of contemporary life.
Berlinde De Bruyckere - City of Refuge III: Exhibited at the Abbazia di San Giorgio Maggiore, this installation featured macabre and eerie sculptures that evoke the ephemerality of the human body. De Bruyckere transformed the ancient spaces into a meditation on sanctuary and rebirth.
Jenny Holzer - Light Line: Presented at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, this installation revisited Holzer's influential text-based art. Using electronic signs to display scrolling text, the work explored social concerns and encouraged public engagement, incorporating AI-generated text alongside Holzer's classic aphorisms.
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