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The Arts Intel Report

Fondation Beyeler: Jeff Wall

Jeff Wall, Milk, 1984.

Jan 28 – Apr 21, 2024
Baselstrasse 101, 4125 Basel, Switzerland

Some call Jeff Wall the founder of “staged photography.” As a child, Wall was more interested in paintings and novels than in popular culture. His photographs look like frozen moments in time or detailed film stills, evoking a precision found in the Old Master paintings that fascinate him. Inspired by experiences from his daily life, Wall’s photographs are recreations done from memory. “I am making pictures as objects—as what we normally call a tableau,” he said to Purple magazine in 2016. Wall works deliberately, preferring to stay away from the easy click of the iPhone photo. This 11-room solo show features the artist’s celebrated transparencies displayed in light boxes, as well as his black-and-white photographs and color prints. —Jeanne Malle