Cynthia-Reeves Presents Shen Chen and Jonathan Prince at Solo Project, 6/12

CYNTHIA-REEVES is pleased to announce their return to Basel for "The Solo Project", June 12 - 16, 2013, located at ST Jakobshalle, Bruglingerstrasse 19-21 in Basel, Switzerland. Following the successful debut of the Art13 London Fair in March, CYNTHIA-REEVES will reconnect with international collectors at one of the premier satellite fairs during Art Basel Week with a two-person exhibition; minimalist abstract paintings by international museum exhibiting Chinese painter, Shen Chen, and anodized aluminum and "Torn Steel" contemporary sculpture by American sculptor and Eli Broad artist, Jonathan Prince.

Shen Chen, who divides his time between New York City and Beijing, always deemed painting as the very pinnacle of his existence. The evolution of his ink brush traditional paintings in the Chinese vernacular dramatically changed when moving to New York in the 1990's, as he swapped Chinese black ink with acrylic paint, testing his endurance and versatility with an entirely new medium. By 2003 - 2004, Chen's line paintings became exclusively vertical, paring down his fluid brushstroke to its simplest manifestation. By 2005, the canvases started to resonate with deeper saturation of color, shifting his palette to tonal shades across the color spectrum.

Chen is fascinated by the permanence of brushwork within the ink-painting process; every time the brush touches the paper, its mark is permanently recorded. Chen's current paintings continue his study of the disciplined mark-making process and, in the most recent work he continues to favor acrylic paint on unfinished canvas. "[Chen] discovered that acrylic could give him an even richer expression than Chinese ink without compromising the essence of ink. (Fang Zhenning, Curator, Today Art Museum, Beijing, China, 2008

Chen's work was recently seen in Buddha's Trace at the Kunstmuseum Bochum in Germany; Chinese Abstract: Slow Art at the Singer Laren Museum in The Netherlands; and, in Here and Now: Chapter III Towards Transculturalism at the Museum of Chinese in America in New York City. Other international venues hosting solo exhibitions by the artist include the China National Museum of Art, Today Art Museum, San Shang Museum of Contemporary Art, Shanghai University Arts Center, The Queens Museum in New York, and the Nantong Museum of Art.

American sculptor Jonathan Prince has evolved an expansive conversation on contemporary sculpture through his Torn Steel series. This continues to test the physical boundaries of rigidity and stainless steel. Having first embraced the elegance of traditional black Cambrian granite in the early 2000's, Prince recently switched gears, and found new inspiration and creative freedom in stainless steel -- a seemingly rigid material that could be altered with heavy machinery and welding techniques. Taking cues from legendary sculptors Richard Serra and Anish Kapoor, Prince's quest to test his principle thesis, challenging the seemingly obstinate rigidity of hard surfaces, and transforming the physicality of steel into something seemingly fluid and "torn", erupted a new dialog on contemporary sculpture that has now become synonymous with the artist's name.

Prince writes: "Steel allows for an additive process; segments can be attached to the core material. As such - I am very excited by the notion that one can penetrate space by the addition of steel fabrication in ways that could never be done in stone carving, where the sculpture's entire mass must be present in the initial stone block. This is actually the reason I was initially interested in exploring steel as a medium. A point of interest in my work is the idea that even though the steel work was created in an additive fashion, the sculpture has often been reduced from the complete form or geometry."

Prince's Vestigial Block I, a Torn Steel Seriessculpture measuring six by six by six feet (1.8 x 1.8 x 1.8 meters), was recently acquired for the permanent collection of the Eli and Edyth Broad Art Museum in East Lansing, Michigan. Exhibitions include a solo show in 2010 at CYNTHIA-REEVES Gallery in New York City; an installation of monumental steel works at the Sculpture Garden at 590 Madison Avenue in 2011; permanent installation of his iconic work,Light Box, as part of the Edward J. Minskoff collection; Bore Block public art installation at Art Miami 2011; an exhibition at Christie's Sculpture Garden at 535 Madison Avenue in 2012; and the exhibition of G2V at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza in 2013.

CYNTHIA-REEVES is pleased to showcase both Shen Chen and Jonathan Prince at the 6th annual Solo-Project, in Basel, Switzerland, June 12 - 16, 2013. Free shuttle buses connect between the fair and Art Basel, Volta Basel, the Tinguely Museum and Schaulage.

Founded by Paul Kusseneers Gallery in Antwerp, this year's Solo-Project is comprised of over 45 established galleries, who are participating by invitation only. The Solo-Project has quickly established itself as the foremost satellite fair in Basel. It is not an attempt to replicate already existing subsidiary fairs; the fair offers an opportunity to enhance the contemporary art experience in Basel by presenting a more in depth view of individual artists' work.

For more information, please visit the gallery online at cynthia-reeves.com or call: 212.714.0044.