Walter Robinson, Artist, Is Feted in Basel for Upcoming Show at Vito Schnabel Gallery - June 15, 2017

Aug 26, 2026

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Profile of artist Walter Robinson as Basel hosts a lunch celebrating his upcoming exhibition at Vito Schnabel Gallery in St. Moritz, Switzerland. The article recounts Robinson’s background as former founding editor of Artnet magazine and his shift from long editorial work to a renewed art-world reception. It highlights the July-opening show “The Americans,” featuring new 2017 paintings and pulp-like portraits, along with catalogue text shaped as a short noir sketch, while describing praise from major figures in attendance.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages2

Reading Time3 min

AccessFree to download

Walter Robinson celebrated in Basel

Upcoming exhibition details

Catalogue and reception

WALTER ROBINSON Walter Robinson, Artist, Is Feted in Basel for Upcoming Show at Vito Schnabel Gallery by Nate Freeman June 15, 2017 Walter Robinson, Live for Today, 2017. Courtesy the Artist and Vito Schnabel Gallery Walter Robinson, the artist who in another life was the founding editor of Artnet magazine, was standing in atan suit at Chez Donati in Basel on Thursday afternoon, fanning himself with a Japanese hand fan at a lunch in his honor. I didn’t have to ask him how he was doing, but I did, and he said he was doing pretty fantastic. “I’m here, but I don’t have to do any work!” he said, continuing to fan himself. Well, he was working, sort of, because the lunch was to celebrate his show that’s opening in July at Vito Schnabel Gallery in St. Moritz, Switzerland, “The Americans,”which features new paintings, freshly made pulp-addled portraits of dames, drunks, and nogoodniks. But what he meant was that he didn’t have to work, like he used to work in Basel—writing and editing and pounding the pavement chasing stories, covering everything going on. “I would just be in the hotel working until midnight, one in the morning—there were no lunches, no dinners or parties,” he said. In the past few years, Robinson’s art has been embraced in a way it hasn’t in decades. He was a pivotal guy in the Pictures Generation orbit way back when, but stayed focused on the editorial side of things. Then, two years after Artnet magazine closed, Barry Blinderman setup a retrospective of Robinson’s work at Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois. Two years after that, Jeffrey WALTER ROBINSON Walter Robinson, The Executioner Blood Vendetta, 2017. Courtesy the Artist and Vito Schnabel Gallery Deitch, who was in attendance at the lunch, brought that retrospective to his rechristened space in New York. In The New Yorker, Peter Schjeldahl called Robinson “a Manet of hot babes and a Morandi of McDonald’s French fries and Budweiser beer cans.” High praise! And soon after, the Whitney acquired his 1986 sheet painting Baron Sinister and put it smack dab in the middle of the main room of its show “Fast Forward: Paintings from the 1980s.” The show at Vito Schnabel Gallery, which opens July 30, includes some work from the ’80s, but also new stuff from 2017. And from the looks of the catalogue Robinson hasn’t stayed too far from his usual subjects. The cover work, As Tough as They Come (2017), is an acrylic-on-bedsheet painting depicting a handsome brawler, shirtsleeves rolled up, green tie flailing, arm cocked back ready to toss a broken bottle of booze. Walter Robinson at Chez Donati. ARTNEWS Robinson even wrote the text for the catalogue, which takes the form of a short noir sketch. A taste: A sharp crack of a pistol report sounded. “I am only a girl, and not a good girl,” she said.“So I shot him.” During the lunch of veal scaloppine and risotto and champagne and, yes, french fries, Schnabel got up to praise Robinson, and thank Deitch for his help, as Foundation Beyeler director Sam Keller, dealer Jeff Poe, and a slew of collectors looked on. By the time espresso came around, I had to head out to another interview, to pound the pavement. I went to say goodbye to Robinson and asked how he was liking being on the other side of things. “I’m getting pretty used to it!” he said.

FAQs

What event in Basel is described in the article?

A celebratory lunch is held for artist Walter Robinson to honor his upcoming show opening in July at Vito Schnabel Gallery in St. Moritz.

What is the title and focus of Robinson’s upcoming exhibition?

The exhibition is titled “The Americans” and includes new paintings from 2017 as well as some work from the 1980s, featuring his familiar portrait subjects.

What unusual element does Robinson contribute to the exhibition catalogue?

Robinson wrote the catalogue text in the form of a short noir sketch.

Aug 26, 2026

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