20th Anniversary Exhibition, installation view
Earlier this month a remarkable document hit my inbox. It came from the blog of Todd Hosfelt on the occasion his gallery’s 20th Anniversary Exhibition. It’s titled What I’ve Learned So Far, and in it he reflects on the qualities that make for great art. Such gestures, while common in the corporate world, are rare among art dealers. The reason, I suspect, is that “vision-and-values” statements long ago became synonymous with obfuscation and doublespeak, sins from which the art world is hardly immune. Hosfelt, however, lays his cards face-up, backing his words with a show that elucidates the thinking that unites the disparate artists in this museum-quality, commemorative exhibition. Significantly, the show boasts three big names not currently associated with the gallery, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Nick Cave and Ed Ruscha – a possible harbinger of things to come.
