To Bend the Ear of the Outer World

It’s impressive to see how abstract painting has evolved in the last century, especially if you take into account how young it is compared to representational painting. To celebrate the evolution of the genre, guest curator Gary Garrels has summoned three generations of artists in To Bend the Ear of the Outer World: Conversations on Contemporary Abstract Painting. The collective show, on view at Gagosian’s two galleries in Mayfair (at Grosvenor Hill and Davies Street) until August 25, puts together the works of over forty artists that juxtapose a diverse range of approaches to contemporary abstraction.

“As a curator, I have found that artists look at art with a focus and scrutiny, a criticality and engagement, that few of us can summon with the same intensity,” says Garrels. The current exhibition across the two London spaces of Gagosian is a conceptual successor of Oranges and Sardines (2008–09), an exhibition of abstract painting organized by Garrels at the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, which included work by some of the same artists. By putting them together, the curator aims to create synergies, relationships, and dialogues between each artwork. The selected artists include Katharina Grosse, Cecily Brown, Gerhard Richter, Vija Celmins, Richard Hoblock, Oscar Murillo, Laura Owens, Tomm El-Saieh, Suzanne Jackson, Christopher Wool, and many more.

The possibilities of abstraction