DOCUMENT
Booth N02
Art Basel Miami Beach
For the 2023 edition of Art Basel Miami Beach, DOCUMENT is pleased to present a dialogue between Anneke Eussen (b. 1978, The Netherlands) and Erin Jane Nelson (b. 1989, United States). Featuring works that are being exhibited for the first time, Eussen and Nelson offer a range of reflections on ecology, waste, and memory. By contrasting two distinctive visual languages —Nelson’s sinuous and colorful ceramic works with Eussen’s sharply minimal clear glass compositions— the booth highlights the artists’ unique use of materials while celebrating their affinities regarding subject matter and process.
Erin Jane Nelson’s ceramic works are reminiscent of organic forms. Incorporating small found objects and covered with a watery resin or “skin,” as if frozen or preserved in place, the works reference craft traditions in the Southern United States, where she grew up and lives. What at first glance appears to be an amalgamation of unicellular organisms and plants becomes, upon closer inspection, an other-worldly archive that preserves vanishing landscapes and proposes altered narratives for their conflicted legacies and futures. As part of a sculpture-centered practice, Nelson simultaneously attends to depth and surface, interior and exterior, abstract and figurative forms, and human and non-human bodies.
In contrast to Nelson’s organic formations, Anneke Eussen’s multi-panel sculptures are made from upcycled glass sourced from an abandoned factory near Brussels. Eussen uses the salvaged glass panes in their original dimensions and conditions —choosing to preserve the rust, dust, and stains— to create minimalist compositions that evoke colorless flags or fictional maps, as well as the borders and fenced surroundings that contain them. In a practice built around layering, arranging, and assembling found materials to create ghostly sculptures, Eussen explores the sensory connection between past, present, and future through our relationship with built environments.
Anneke Eussen lives and works in Vaals, The Netherlands. She studied at the Academy of Maastricht, Netherlands, followed by a post-graduate residency at the Higher Institute of Fine Arts, Brussels, Belgium. Solo exhibitions include Kunstverein Schwerin, Schwerin, Germany (2023); Marinaro, New York, NY (2023); DOCUMENT, Chicago, IL (2022); and Tatjana Pieters, Ghent, Belgium (2022). She has participated in group exhibitions including GIST triennial, Beersel, Belgium (2023); Horizonverticaal, Haarlem, The Netherlands (2022); DMW gallery, Antwerp, Belgium (2021); and Lage Egal, Berlin, Germany (2020).
Erin Jane Nelson lives and works in Atlanta, GA. In 2011 she received her BFA from The Cooper Union. Recent solo exhibitions include the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, Atlanta, GA (2021); DOCUMENT, Chicago, IL (2020); Chapter NY, New York, NY (2023); and Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, Atlanta, GA (2019). Her work has been featured in group exhibitions at the Carnegie Museum of Art (upcoming 2024) The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY (2021); Aspen Art Museum, Aspen, CO (2020); Fries Museum, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands (2020); La Galerie, Centre d’Art Contemporain, Noisy-le-Sec, France (2019); and Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, Germany (2018). Nelson was the recipient of a 2023 Guggenheim Fellowship in the Creative Arts.
