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Almine Rech

WORDS WITHOUT THOUGHTS NEVER TO HEAVEN GO Curated by Dieter Buchhart

Oct 31 — Dec 16, 2017 | New York, Upper East Side
Inquire about the exhibition: inquiries@alminerech.com

To write does not mean to convert the real into words but to make the power of the word real. 
    Augusto Roa Bastos,  I the Supreme1

Almine Rech Gallery New York is pleased to present Words Without Thoughts Never to Heaven Go featuring the word as an image and its metonymic relation to the motif itself. The title refers to, as Ed Ruscha put it: “a noble quotation that is as timeless as it is poetic,"2 a line said by King Claudius in act three of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. In a time where the word as a written unity - i.e. the meaning of the word and the displayed word - have become highly disparate due to digital and social media, the exhibition Words Without Thoughts Never to Heaven Go points towards the actuality of a thorough examination of the word in artworks. The exhibition follows the increasing importance of words in art, starting from Modernism and leading up through the twentieth century and into today.  

Press release

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Selected artworks

  • Mario Schifano,                                      Untitled, 1977

    Mario Schifano Untitled, 1977

    Enamel on canvas
    33 1/4 x 37 1/4 inches
    84,5 x 94,5 cm

  • Andy Warhol,                                      Brillo Box (Soap Pads), 1964

    Andy Warhol Brillo Box (Soap Pads), 1964

    Synthetic polymer paint and silkscreen ink on wood
    20 1/8 x 20 x 17 inches
    51,1 x 50,8 x 43,2 cm

  • Joseph Cornell,                                      Surréalisme, 1931 - 1932

    Joseph Cornell Surréalisme, 1931 - 1932

    Collage
    5 3/8 x 4 inches
    13,8 x 10,2 cm

  • Joseph Cornell,                                      Object (La Ruche), 1944 - 1946

    Joseph Cornell Object (La Ruche), 1944 - 1946

    Construction
    5,5 x 2,9 cm
    2 1/8 x 1 1/8 inches

  • Ed Ruscha,                                      Oklahoma-E, 1962

    Ed Ruscha Oklahoma-E, 1962

    Pencil, colored pencil and charcoal on tracing paper
    17 x 14 inches
    43,2 x 35,6 cm

  • Sol LeWitt,                                      A point which is located halfway between the midpoint (...), 1973

    Sol LeWitt A point which is located halfway between the midpoint (...), 1973

    Ink on cardboard, double sided drawing
    19 5/8 x 19 5/8 inches
    50 x 50 cm

  • Robert Morris,                                      I-Box, 1962

    Robert Morris I-Box, 1962

    Painted plywood cabinet coated with Sculptmetal, containing photograph
    18 7/8 x 12 5/8 x 1 5/8 inches
    48 x 32 x 4 cm

  • Robert Morris,                                      Location, 1973

    Robert Morris Location, 1973

    Lead and aluminum on board
    21 1/8 x 21 1/8 x 15 inches
    53,7 x 53,7 x 38 cm

    Ed 5/17

  • Robert Morris,                                      Swift Night Ruler, 1962

    Robert Morris Swift Night Ruler, 1962

    Mixed media wood and paint
    10 x 28 1/2 x 1 inches
    25,4 x 72,4 x 2,5 cm

  • Alighiero Boetti,                                      Senza titolo (Raddoppiare dimezzando, Ordine e disordine), 1980

    Alighiero Boetti Senza titolo (Raddoppiare dimezzando, Ordine e disordine), 1980

    Mixed media, collage and spray on paper laid on canvas
    27,55 x 39,37 inches
    70 x 100 cm

  • Kurt Schwitters,                                      MZ 245, Mal Kah, 1921

    Kurt Schwitters MZ 245, Mal Kah, 1921

    Collage and crayon
    4 7/8 x 3 7/8 inches
    12,5 x 10 cm

  • Kurt Schwitters,                                      Erster Platz Mz 307 Jettchen, 1921

    Kurt Schwitters Erster Platz Mz 307 Jettchen, 1921

    Collage
    19,7 x 14,5 cm
    7 3/4 x 5 3/4 inches

  • Kurt Schwitters,                                      Untitled (875 G), 1921 / 1924

    Kurt Schwitters Untitled (875 G), 1921 / 1924

    Collage, gouache, and paper on paper
    10 7/8 x 8 5/8 inches
    27,7 x 21,9 cm

  • Kurt Schwitters,                                      Ohne Titel (Schatzi), 1920

    Kurt Schwitters Ohne Titel (Schatzi), 1920

    Collage on paper
    5 1/4 x 4 inches
    13,3 x 10,2 cm

  • Kurt Schwitters,                                      Gold out of Brown, 1946

    Kurt Schwitters Gold out of Brown, 1946

    Collage
    11 5/8 x 9 1/2 inches
    29,4 x 24 cm

  • Kurt Schwitters,                                      Sans titre 29/35, 1929

    Kurt Schwitters Sans titre 29/35, 1929

    Cardboard and paper collage
    9 1/2 x 7 1/2 inches
    24 x 19,2 cm

  • Larry Rivers,                                      The Greatest Homosexual, 1978

    Larry Rivers The Greatest Homosexual, 1978

    Pen, oil, watercolor and ribbon on paper
    90 x 59 1/4 x 2 inches (framed)
    228,6 x 150,5 x 5,08 cm (framed)

  • Jasper Johns,                                      Iron, 1962

    Jasper Johns Iron, 1962

    Encaustic and charcoal on wood
    9 3/4 x 7 1/8 inches
    24,8 x 18,1 cm

  • René Magritte,                                      La Trahison des Images (The Treachery of Images), 1952

    René Magritte La Trahison des Images (The Treachery of Images), 1952

    Indian ink on paper
    7 1/2 x 10 5/8 inches
    19 x 27 cm

  • Ed Ruscha,                                      Baked Potato, 1962

    Ed Ruscha Baked Potato, 1962

    Oil, ink, and collage on paper
    12 x 11 1/2 inches
    30,5 x 29,2 cm

  • Ed Ruscha,                                      Steak, 1962

    Ed Ruscha Steak, 1962

    Oil and collage on paper
    11 3/4 x 12 inches
    29,8 x 30,5 cm

  • Jean-Michel Basquiat,                                      Venus, 1982

    Jean-Michel Basquiat Venus, 1982

    Xerox collage on canvas
    8 5/8 x 5 1/2 inches
    22 x 14 cm

  • Ben Vautier,                                      Je suis noir et beau, 1959

    Ben Vautier Je suis noir et beau, 1959

    Oil on canvas
    18 1/8 x 24 inches
    46 x 61 cm

  • Georges Braque,                                      La caisse d’emballage, 1947

    Georges Braque La caisse d’emballage, 1947

    Oil on canvas
    36 1/4 x 36 1/4 inches
    92 x 92 cm

  • Georges Braque,                                      Fruit bowl, bottle, and glass (Compotier, bouteille et verre), August 1912 - September 1912

    Georges Braque Fruit bowl, bottle, and glass (Compotier, bouteille et verre), August 1912 - September 1912

    Oil and sand on canvas
    23 5/8 x 28 3/4 inches
    60 x 73 cm

  • Joseph Kosuth,                                      Four Colors Four Words, 1966

    Joseph Kosuth Four Colors Four Words, 1966

    Violet, red, yellow, blue neon mounted directly on the wall
    3 7/8 x 77 1/2 inches
    10 x 197 cm

  • Kurt Schwitters,                                      Mz 26,45 Sch, 1925

    Kurt Schwitters Mz 26,45 Sch, 1925

    Collage on paper on artist’s mount
    5 3/4 x 4 1/8 inches
    14,5 x 10,6 cm

  • Juan Gris,                                      Bottle and Glass (Bouteille et verre), 1921

    Juan Gris Bottle and Glass (Bouteille et verre), 1921

    Oil on canvas
    13 3/4 x 8 5/8 inches
    35 x 22 cm

  • Bruce Nauman,                                      None Sing/Neon Sign, 1970

    Bruce Nauman None Sing/Neon Sign, 1970

    Neon
    13 x 24 inches
    33 x 61 cm

  • Ed Ruscha,                                      Heaven, 1986

    Ed Ruscha Heaven, 1986

    Oil on canvas
    59 x 145 1/2 inches
    149,9 x 369,6 cm

  • Pablo Picasso,                                      Man With a Newspaper, 1914

    Pablo Picasso Man With a Newspaper, 1914

    Charcoal on paper
    12 1/2 x 9 3/8 inches
    31,6 x 23,8 cm

  • Pablo Picasso,                                      Être ou ne pas être , 1912

    Pablo Picasso Être ou ne pas être , 1912

    Gouache on paper
    4 3/8 x 17 1/8 inches
    11 x 43,5 cm

  • Pablo Picasso,                                      Still Life with Bottle of Vittel, 1920

    Pablo Picasso Still Life with Bottle of Vittel, 1920

    Oil on canvas
    45 x 32 cm
    17 3/4 x 12 5/8 inches

  • Pablo Picasso,                                      Still Life with Newspaper, 1923

    Pablo Picasso Still Life with Newspaper, 1923

    Oil on wood
    5 1/8 x 6 7/8 inches
    13 x 17,5 cm

  • Andy Warhol,                                              Francesco Clemente,                                              Jean-Michel Basquiat,                                      In Bianco, 1984

    Andy Warhol Francesco Clemente Jean-Michel Basquiat In Bianco, 1984

    Acrylic, silkscreen, and pastel on canvas
    48 x 66 1/8 inches
    122 x 168 cm

  • Barbara Kruger,                                      Untitled (You Kill Time), 1983

    Barbara Kruger Untitled (You Kill Time), 1983

    Black & white photograph, in Artist’s frame
    71 x 48 inches
    180,3 x 121,9 cm

  • Cy Twombly,                                      Nine Discourses on Commodus by Cy Twombly at Leo Castelli, 1964

    Cy Twombly Nine Discourses on Commodus by Cy Twombly at Leo Castelli, 1964

    Colored pencil and graphite on paper
    27 3/8 x 19 5/8 inches
    69,6 x 49,8 cm

  • Martin Kippenberger,                                      Don’t Wake Daddy VII, 1994

    Martin Kippenberger Don’t Wake Daddy VII, 1994

    Oil on canvas
    47 1/4 x 39 1/4 inches
    120 x 99,6 cm

  • Pablo Picasso,                                      La dernière chose qu'on trouve…, First half of the 20th century

    Pablo Picasso La dernière chose qu'on trouve…, First half of the 20th century

    Watercolor on paper
    8 1/2 x 10 3/4 inches
    21,5 x 27,2 cm

  • Jean-Michel Basquiat,                                      Wall Segment, 1982

    Jean-Michel Basquiat Wall Segment, 1982

    Oil stick on thick plasterboard, wood and iron
    41 1/2 x 27 1/2 x 5 inches
    105,4 x 69,9 x 12,7 cm

Artists