Maurizio Cattelan's 'Smoke' Unfolds Across Three Galleries at Art Basel 2021

Key facts

• Maurizio Cattelan presented 'Smoke' at Art Basel 2021 across three galleries: MASSIMODECARLO, Marian Goodman Gallery, and Perrotin.
• 'Smoke' is a multi-episode exhibition with each gallery showing its segment independently.
• The works are linked by a raw analysis of the post-Covid world.
• The project challenges the nature of art display, emphasizing silence as meaningful.
• It dialogues with Cattelan's earlier exhibition 'Breath, Ghosts, Blind' at Pirelli Hangar Bicocca.
• New works debut on the 20th anniversary of 9/11, born from memories of the attacks.
• At MASSIMODECARLO, 'Night' is a black American flag with bullet holes, referencing Black Lives Matter and Lucio Fontana.
• At Marian Goodman Gallery, 'Ghosts + Found Work' combines the 'I ♥ NY' logo with stuffed pigeons and a found object covered in 9/11 reactions.
• At Perrotin, 'Brother, 2021' is a gilded self-portrait emerging from the wall, questioning individual presence and disappearance.
• The exhibition is described as a collective writing experiment, shared mourning, and rebellion against art system rules.