Abstract delight: Ilse D’Hollander’s paintings go on view in New York
![Two abstract paints. The painting to the left is in gray and black tones, with a pop o pale yellow. The painting to the right is in blue tones, with black and yellow lines.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/4n3KXiBpnSe4SZ6rzmehFG-415-80.jpg)
The Chelsea art dealer Sean Kelly has staged the first comprehensive exhibition in the US devoted to the Belgian artist, Ilse D'Hollander. Eponymously named, the exhibition showcases 60 paintings and works on paper all created during a ten-year period prior to her untimely death.
'Even though Ilse’s oeuvre is compelling yet subtle, she had but one solo show in her entire life,' says Janine Cirincione, Sean Kelly's director and the show's curator. 'It’s exceedingly rare that you come across an artist whose entire body of work is so mature at a remarkably young age,' she adds.
D’Hollander’s spare compositions are based on blurred blocks and bands of color (which she then lays down as thin layers of oil paint in a palette ranging from taupe and slate blue to pale yellow that give a sense of luminosity and geometry), akin to the work of Nicolas de Staël and early Mondrian. A number of her works reference the Flemish landscape, while others are totally abstract.
'There's a sense of stepping into a picture plane that is intimate and filled with light,' says Cirincione. The painter’s 1996 Oostende, comprises vertical bands of forest green and black, flanking an evanescent body of pale jade.
Just as D’Hollander’s oil paintings are extraordinary, so too are her works on paper. 'She turned to a rather unconventional methodology. Ilse frequently applied multiple layers of oil paint on paper that are surprisingly small, a mere nine inches in length and width,' Cirincione explains. A case in point is the artist’s Untitled, 1996, a flush of pink and dove gray punctuated by a soft orange.
'She’s really a prodigy and merits considerable attention,' concludes Cirincione. No small praise.
D’Hollander’s spare compositions are based on blurred blocks and bands of colour which she then lays down as thin layers of oil paint to give a sense of luminosity and geometry. Pictured: Untitled, 1996
The presentation showcases 60 paintings and works on paper, all created during a ten-year period prior to her untimely death. Pictured: Untitled, 1996
’Even though Ilse’s oeuvre is compelling yet subtle, she had but one solo show in her entire life,’ says Janine Cirincione, Sean Kelly’s director and the curator of the show. Pictured left: Untitled, 1996. Right: Untitled, 1996
INFORMATION
’llse D’Hollander’ is on view until 6 February. For more information, visit Sean Kelly Gallery’s website
Photography: Guy Braeckman. Courtesy Sean Kelly Gallery
ADDRESS
Sean Kelly Gallery
475 Tenth Avenue
New York
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
-
Feel at home at Auberge, Château La Coste's new inn for culture lovers
Auberge La Coste sits at the heart of the art-filled estate, minutes away from the joyful town of Aix-en-Provence
By Harriet Thorpe Published
-
This Nova Lima apartment is a Brazilian family oasis with striking Minas Gerais views
A Nova Lima apartment designed by Jacobsen Arquitetura celebrates its long, natural Minas Gerais vistas
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Commune’s sustainable personal care products look ‘quite unlike anything else’
Commune’s Somerset-made products stand out in the sustainable skincare crowd. Madeleine Rothery speaks with the brand’s co-founders Kate Neal and Rémi Paringaux
By Madeleine Rothery Published
-
Alexander May, founder of LA studio Sized, on the joys of creative polymathy
Creative director Alexander May tells us of the multidisciplinary approach that drives his LA studio Sized and its offspring, a 5,000 sq ft event space and an exhibition series
By Hannah Silver Published
-
50 of America’s top creatives, photographed by Inez & Vinoodh
Photographed exclusively for Wallpaper* by Inez & Vinoodh, we present a portfolio of 50 creatives driving the current discourse on American culture and its dynamic evolution
By Dan Howarth Published
-
Nona Faustine confronts the past in New York
Artist Nona Faustine reframes New York's colonial past in an exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum
By Hannah Silver Published
-
How the west won: Ivan McClellan is amplifying the intrepid beauty of Black cowboy culture
In his new book, 'Eight Seconds: Black Cowboy Culture', Ivan McClellan draws us into the world of Black rodeo. Wallpaper* meets the photographer ahead of his Juneteenth Rodeo
By Tracy Kawalik Published
-
Casa Bosques’ queer-themed book curation comes to New York’s East Village
In Pride Month 2024, Casa Bosques’ pop-up bookstore in The Standard hotel, East Village, offers a stylish haven for literary mavens
By Hannah Silver Published
-
‘Very few museums were interested in my work until recently’: Amalia Mesa-Bains on her first-ever retrospective
‘Amalia Mesa-Bains: Archaeology of Memory’ is a long-overdue exhibition at El Museo del Barrio in New York celebrating five decades of the trailblazing Chicanx artist
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
Frieze New York 2024: what to see in and around the city
Frieze New York 2024 (until Sunday 5 May) sees the city’s ample spring season programming celebrated at The Shed
By Osman Can Yerebakan Published
-
Calling NYC grads! Sarabande Foundation invites you to an industry masterclass to pave way into the creative world
‘What Now?’ by Sarabande Foundation is a post-college guide to support graduates in making their next steps, with advice from the likes of Burberry, Thom Browne, and more
By Tianna Williams Published