Daniel Dewar & Grégory Gicquel

Mammalian Fantasies

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Daniel Dewar & Grégory Gicquel, installation view, Mammalian Fantasies, Kunsthalle Basel, 2019. Photo: Philipp Hänger / Kunsthalle Basel. Courtesy of the artists; C L E A R I N G, New York / Brussels; Loevenbruck, Paris, and Jan Kaps, Cologne.

Daniel Dewar & Grégory Gicquel, installation view, Mammalian Fantasies, view on, Oak Relief with Man, Udders, and Vase, 2017, Kunsthalle Basel, 2019. Photo: Philipp Hänger / Kunsthalle Basel. Courtesy of the artists; C L E A R I N G, New York / Brussels; Loevenbruck, Paris, and Jan Kaps, Cologne.

Daniel Dewar & Grégory Gicquel, installation view, Mammalian Fantasies, view on (f.l.t.r.) Oak Dresser with Harnessed Oxen, 2017, Oak Bench with Narcissus and Snails, 2017, Kunsthalle Basel, 2019. Photo: Philipp Hänger / Kunsthalle Basel. Courtesy of the artists; C L E A R I N G, New York / Brussels; Loevenbruck, Paris, and Jan Kaps, Cologne.

Daniel Dewar & Grégory Gicquel, installation view, Mammalian Fantasies, Kunsthalle Basel, 2019. Photo: Philipp Hänger / Kunsthalle Basel. Courtesy of the artists; C L E A R I N G, New York / Brussels; Loevenbruck, Paris, and Jan Kaps, Cologne.

Daniel Dewar & Grégory Gicquel, installation view, Mammalian Fantasies, view on, Oak Relief with Man, Pig, and Shell, 2018, Kunsthalle Basel, 2019. Photo: Philipp Hänger / Kunsthalle Basel. Courtesy of the artists; C L E A R I N G, New York / Brussels; Loevenbruck, Paris, and Jan Kaps, Cologne.

Daniel Dewar & Grégory Gicquel, installation view, Mammalian Fantasies, Kunsthalle Basel, 2019. Photo: Philipp Hänger / Kunsthalle Basel. Courtesy of the artists; C L E A R I N G, New York / Brussels; Loevenbruck, Paris, and Jan Kaps, Cologne.

Daniel Dewar & Grégory Gicquel, installation view, Mammalian Fantasies, Kunsthalle Basel, 2019. Photo: Philipp Hänger / Kunsthalle Basel. Courtesy of the artists; C L E A R I N G, New York / Brussels; Loevenbruck, Paris, and Jan Kaps, Cologne.

Daniel Dewar & Grégory Gicquel, installation view, Mammalian Fantasies, view on, Oak Chest of Drawers with Giant Flanders Rabbit and Arms, 2018, Kunsthalle Basel, 2019. Photo: Philipp Hänger / Kunsthalle Basel. Courtesy of the artists; C L E A R I N G, New York / Brussels; Loevenbruck, Paris, and Jan Kaps, Cologne.

Daniel Dewar & Grégory Gicquel, installation view, Mammalian Fantasies, Kunsthalle Basel, 2019. Photo: Philipp Hänger / Kunsthalle Basel. Courtesy of the artists; C L E A R I N G, New York / Brussels; Loevenbruck, Paris, and Jan Kaps, Cologne.

Daniel Dewar & Grégory Gicquel, installation view, Mammalian Fantasies, view on (f.l.t.r.) Oak Relief with Body Fragments, 2018, Oak Relief with Man, Catfish, and Shell, 2017, Kunsthalle Basel, 2019. Photo: Philipp Hänger / Kunsthalle Basel. Courtesy of the artists; C L E A R I N G, New York / Brussels; Loevenbruck, Paris, and Jan Kaps, Cologne.

Daniel Dewar & Grégory Gicquel, installation view, Mammalian Fantasies, view on, Oak Relief with Body Fragments, both 2018, Kunsthalle Basel, 2019. Photo: Philipp Hänger / Kunsthalle Basel. Courtesy of the artists; C L E A R I N G, New York / Brussels; Loevenbruck, Paris, and Jan Kaps, Cologne.

Daniel Dewar & Grégory Gicquel, installation view, Mammalian Fantasies, view on, Oak Relief with Body Fragments, both 2018, Kunsthalle Basel, 2019. Photo: Philipp Hänger / Kunsthalle Basel. Courtesy of the artists; C L E A R I N G, New York / Brussels; Loevenbruck, Paris, and Jan Kaps, Cologne.

Daniel Dewar & Grégory Gicquel, poster for the exhibition, Mammalian Fantasies, Kunsthalle Basel, 2019. Design: Sina Gerschwiler

➔ Exhibition text and related events (PDF)
➔ Press images (ZIP)

Daniel Dewar (b. 1976) and Grégory Gicquel (b. 1975) create sculptural objects that combine traditional craftwork, figurative motifs, and a wildly surreal sensibility. For their first institutional exhibition in Switzerland, the British-French artist duo presents an ensemble of newly commissioned and recently constructed wood pieces in which the fragmented bodies of humans and other mammals appear. Using seemingly anachronistic production techniques, they carve a dislocated human arm or intestinal tract alongside an ox’s head or a giant Flanders rabbit onto wall murals, armoires, or sets of drawers. The results celebrate the slow and the analogue, rendering vague any distinctions between functionality, decoration, and aura.

Wer schreit, ist einsam, NZZ am Sonntag (03/2019)
Daniel Dewar & Grégory Gicquel: Mammalian Fantasies, Kunstforum International (03/2019)
Mutige Monumentalität, Badische Zeitung, Der Sonntag (02/2019)
Surreale Erotik, Badische Zeitung (01/2019)
Der Flirt zwischen dem Analogen und Hyperdigitalem, Radio X (01/2019)
Ein Himmelreich für tausend Gebisse, BZ Basel (01/2019)
Sinn fürs Groteske, Basler Zeitung (01/2019)