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12.22.2012

Fair Game: The Stuff of Sculpture

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The posts so far:
Domestic Affairs
Painting in the Big Box
More Painting at More Fairs
Small Works in a Big Week 
 
 ABMB: Installation view of Roni Horn sculpture at Hauser & Wirth
 
 
A few things I noticed about the sculpture at the fairs this year:
. One, there was very little in the way of mirrors or highly reflective surfaces
. Two, there was mercifully little in the way of pubescent-minded narratives; you know, the giant resin ducks with tubes of colored liquid going into or coming out of their butts, the chocolate butt plugs, the resin figures with their heads up their butts. (Notice the theme?) Anyway, there was pretty much none of that
. Three, there were no overarching themes as there were in previous years, like spiderwebsmoney or trees

But there was a lot of sculpture made from a satisfying range of stuff: glass, crystal, resin, wax, cast and constructed metal, wood, clay, fabric, and what-have-you. Materiality, epecially the what-have-you, is the subject of this post.
 
Closer view: Untitled ("Water is best"), 2011, solid cast glass, diameters 34-36 inches
 

ABMB: Marina Abramovic wax and crystal sculptures at Lia Rumma, Naples
 
Below: Closer view of the artist's own face in cast wax
 

ABMB: Petah Coyne, Untitled #1375, 2011-12; taxidermy animals, silk flowers, candles and other materials; at Galerie Lelong, New York and Paris
 
Detail below 

 
ABMB: Lynda Benglis, Figure 6, 2009, aluminum, at Cheim & Read, New York
 
Detail below (looks like cast rope)


ABMB: Ernesto Neto crocheted propylene rope sculpture with plastic balls, at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York City
(The artist had a solo at the gallery earlier in the year)
 

ABMB: Danh Vo copper sculpture at Galerie Chantal Crousel, Paris
 

ABMB: Los Carpinteros at Sean Kelly Gallery, New York City
You know they're made out of Legos, right?
 
 
ABMB: Wolfgang Laib Untitled sculpture of beeswax and wood at Buchmann Galerie, Berlin
 
Closer view below


ABMB: Arlene Shechet, Tall Tale, glazed ceramic and kiln brick, steel, at Sikkema Jenkins, New York City
(The Sex Machine piece is embroidery on jute sacking by Cosima Von Bonin at Petzel Gallery)
 

Seven: Tatiana Berg painted forms of enamel and spray paint on canvas and wood, with casters, at Postmasters Gallery, New York City


Untitled: Fabienne Lasserre at Jeff Bailey Gallery, New York City
 

ABMB, Art Nova: Harry Dodge sculptures at unidentified gallery
 
Closer view below
 

NADA: Dave Hardy cement-soaked foam sculpture at Regina Rex, Queens, New York


Pulse: Jessica Drenk installation of wax-soaked, carved book pages, at Adah Rose Gallery, Kensington, Maryland
 
Closer view below


ABMB: El Anatsui at Jack Shainman Gallery, New York City
You can call this work painting, sculpture or tapestry because it embodies elements of all three, but the Ghanaian-born artist identifies as a sculptor
 
Construction detail below


ABMB: Jannis Kounellis, Untitled, 2011, mixed media (what look to be wine bottles and canvas), at Gallery Bernier Eliades, Athens
 
Detail below
 
 
ABMB: Christo, Wrapped Painting, 1968, tarpaulin, rope and wood, at Annely Juda Fine Art, London
 

ABMB: Karla Black knotted plastic sheeting at Stuart Shave Modern Art, London
 

Pulse: Maria Lai embroidered book at Nuova Galleria Morone, Milan
 
Closer view below
 

ABMB: Liza Lou beaded pages at (I think) L&M Arts, Los Angeles
 
 
 Miami Project: Derrick Velasquez, Untitled, marine vinyl strips on wood, at Pentimenti Gallery, Philadelphia
 
Detail below


Art Miami: Pia Maria Martin, Plastic Tape, 16.75" diameter, at Villa del Arte Galleries, Barcelona
 
Detail below

 
ABMB: Richard Tuttle sculpture at Stuart Shave Modern Art, London
 
Installation view below
 

Pulse: Mounir Fatmi, filigreed saw blade, 58.5" diameter, at Shoshana Wayne Gallery, Santa Monica
 
 
 Context: Ted Larsen sculptures of found/recycled metal, at Pan American Projects, Miami
 
Closer view of  Dimwit, below
 

Pulse: Julia Venske and Gregor Spänle carved marble sculptures at Margaret Thatcher Projects, New York City
 

ABMB: Martin Puryear, Mudfish, 1998, 22 x 11 x 9 inches, at McKee Gallery, New York City
 

ABMB: David Nash, Turning and Cracked Egg, 2008, carved ash, at Annely Juda Fine Art, London
 

Untitled: Gudmundur Thoroddsen carved wood sculpture at Asya Geisberg Gallery, New York City
 

Pulse: Lucky Thief at Galleri Jonas Kleerup, Stockholm


NADA: Michelle Segre carved wood at Derek Eller Gallery, New York City
 

ABMB: Jose de Rivera  at Valerie Carbury Gallery, Chicago
These fabulous sculptures were used by Rivera as teaching tools during his appointment teaching sculpture at Yale, 1953-1955
 
Closer view below


ABMB, Art Nova: David Adamo at Ibid, London
 
Closer view below 
 
 
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4 comments:

Nancy Natale said...

It seems to me that the painting you showed us was far better than the sculpture, but maybe I'm prejudiced. Of course Anatsui always excels, but he's in that sculpture-on-the-wall mixed dimension. I just get the feeling that people are trying for novelty for its own sake, and I have to wonder if Marina stuck all those crystals in the wax casts because she wanted to obscure her face.

Gwen Buchanan said...

This is Art?????

annell4 said...

I liked the small scultures by Jose de Rivera...thank you again for your post. You are amazing!

Susan Schwalb said...

Wonderful group of images. Thanks for this post.