sculpture

Martin Puryear In Madison Square Park
Martin Puryear, Big Bling, 2016. Pressure-treated laminated timbers, plywood, fiberglass, and gold leaf, 40 x 10 x 38 ft.

Martin Puryear, Big Bling, 2016. Pressure-treated laminated timbers, plywood, fiberglass, and gold leaf, 40 x 10 x 38 ft.

I first came to know the American sculptor, Martin Puryear, through his exhibit at the Morgan Library and Museum. The show focused on Puryear’s drawings and his preparatory work for his large scale projects. There were also some of his sculptures — all sleek with clean lines and simple shapes that had powerful impact. But until my visit to Madison Square Park, I’ve never seen one of his massive pieces, like Bearing Witness which stands in front of the Ronald Reagan Building in DC.

Martin Puryear, Bearing Witness, 1997, Bronze

Martin Puryear, Bearing Witness, 1997, Bronze

Big Bling is more whimsical than Bearing Witness. It stands forty feet high and is a multi-tier wood structure wrapped in fine chain-link fence. A gold-leafed shackle is anchored near the top of the structure.

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It’s standing in the middle of Madison Square Park and will be on view through January 8, 2017.  You can’t get too close to it as there is a protective barrier around the perimeter. But one can view it from a variety of angles by walking around the Park; both on the greens and around the outside.

Martin Puryear. Untitled, 2009

Martin Puryear. Untitled, 2009

The shape is reminiscent of earlier Puryear works which bring to mind an elephant.  And while the size here can feel overwhelming, Big Bling is also joyful and brought a smile to my face.

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If you go to see it, I’d recommend entering the park from the west side; and go while the park is still green!

Isa Genzken: Two Orchids Towering Over Central Park

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Just as spring is trying to push its way forward, the Public Art Fund brings something new to the corner of Central Park at 60th and Fifth Avenue. Last year it was Tatiana Trouve’s “Desire Lines.” This year Two Orchids, by German artist Isa Genzken, adorn the entrance to the park. The slim and delicate looking “flowers” are 28 and 34 feet tall. They are best admired from across the street. Though orchids used to be considered a rare and exotic flower, today they can be purchased in your local supermarket. According to the Public Art Fund, “Two Orchids stands as an idealized, colossal version of the familiar plant: a civic monument to the perfect orchid, now the chosen ornament of contemporary culture.”

Two Orchids will be up until August 21st. But go sooner if you’d like a touch of spring before the weather catches up.

The Power of the Line

Two exhibits, as different as night and day, bring to life the power of a line. The first is Martin Puryear: Multiple Dimensions at the Morgan Library and Museum.

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Martin Puryear is a living American sculptor who works primarily in wood and bronze creating elegant pieces that have subtle impact. This exhibition is the first to highlight the important role that drawing plays in his practice. Featuring about 70 works, the exhibition explores the evolution of Puryear’s ideas across different media. Most of the drawings come from the artist’s collection and have never been exhibited before. His drawings, but even more so his sculptures, use simple shapes and lines that have depth and volume.

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The second exhibit brings to light the exquisite drawings of Renaissance artist, Andrea del Sarto, and can be found at the Frick Museum. Andrea del Sarto: The Renaissance Workshop in Action has nearly fifty drawings — red and black chalk figures, expressive heads, and compositional studies — and three related paintings that explore the important role of drawing in Andrea del Sarto’s paintings. “By showing drawings with their completed paintings and by bringing together works that relate to specific commissions, the exhibition sheds new light on the artist’s creative process,” according to the exhibition notes. The works on display provide insights into the artistic process and serve, almost as a masters class, in drawing.

Both exhibits are on view through January 10, 2016.

Tatiana Trouvé’s “Desire Lines” in Central Park
"Desire Lines" Tatiana Trouvé, Central Park

“Desire Lines” Tatiana Trouvé, Central Park

With spring finally in the air, take advantage of the warmer weather and go see “Desire Lines,” a fun and creative outdoor installation by Parisian sculptor, Tatiana Trouvé. It  is composed of miles of colored rope wound around huge wooden spools that hold them. Commissioned by the Public Art Fund, Trouvé’s work is an homage to Central Park. If unwound, the “threads” would stretch along every inch of the 212 paths that snake through the park’s 843-acre rectangle. Many of the paths are unnamed, so Trouvé  invented an “atlas” of the history and culture of walking.

 

“Desire Lines” Tatiana Trouvé, Central Park
“Desire Lines” Tatiana Trouvé, Central Park

Visitors to Desire Lines can choose a path by name then undertake the walk it describes. I went to visit the piece on a frosty day, when snow was still piled around the edges of the park. Without any visible signage, it was hard to appreciate just what you were seeing. Fortunately, I had a chance to visit the Park Avenue Gagosian Gallery which has a companion exhibit called, “Tatiana Trouvé: Studies for Desire Lines.

TATIANA TROUVÉ Untitled, 2014
TATIANA TROUVÉ Untitled, 2014 Ink on canvas, cotton, paper
TATIANA TROUVÉ Untitled (detail), 2014 Ink on canvas, cotton, paper

At the gallery you can see  sculptures, drawings, and preparatory studies that Trouvé  used for Desire Lines. In addition to vellum tracings and cast part-objects, there are detailed graphite drawings inlaid with copper and vertical maps of Central Park in raw canvas with paths hand-stitched in colored silks.

Tatiana Trouvé at the Gagosian gallery

Tatiana Trouvé at the Gagosian gallery

You can see the sculpture at the Doris C. Freedman Plaza near 60th Street and Fifth Avenue until August 3oth. “Studies for Desire Lines” will be on view until April 25th.

Marisol’s “Self-Portrait Looking at The Last Supper”

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Though I’m at the Metropolitan Museum of Art every week, I somehow missed seeing an incredible sculptural installation by the artist, Marisol.  She is best known for her large figural sculptures, which address a variety of subjects. The piece at the Met is entitled, “Self Portrait Looking at the Last Supper,” and is based on Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting of the same name. At 30-feet long, it is the same length as Da Vinci’s fresco.

Seated across the room from The Last Supper, there is a single wooden figure representing the artist herself . Her presence is meant to underscore that art is about looking, evaluating, and reinventing what one sees, according to the exhibition notes.

You can find “Self Portrait Looking at the Last Supper” all on it’s own in gallery 909 in the first floor Modern and Contemporary Paintings section. Exhibiting it this way allows the viewer to really appreciate the details of the construction and feel the impact of the piece.

“Self Portrait Looking at the Last Supper” was supposed to close several weeks ago but will be on view at least through March. It’s worth a visit to the Met just to see it but certainly stop by if you’re at the Met for other reasons.

 

 

El Anatsui

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My first encounter with Ghanan born artist, El Anatsui, was the 30 piece exhibition of his work at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, held in 2013. Since then, I’ve discovered pieces by this globally-renowned contemporary artist at both the Met and the MOMA. Now there’s a new opportunity to view Anatsui’s work in a more intimate environment at the Mnuchin Gallery on East 78th Street.

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Anatsui converts everyday materials, like aluminum and and copper wiring, into dramatic art .His pieces are influenced by traditions from his birth country, Ghana and his home in Nsukka, Nigeria. From afar Anatsui’s pieces look like textured paintings, but when examined closely, you can see his intricate handiwork in the carefully stitched together liquor bottle caps and labels.

El Anatsui, Detail from Anthem For A-Nu, 2014

El Anatsui, Detail from Anthem For A-Nu, 2014

The show at the Mnuchin Gallery is entitled, “Metas,”  In this entirely new body of work, notes the gallery, Anatsui replaces his characteristic bright colors and patterns with “dramatic cut-outs, dynamic diagonal lines, and geometric shapes demarcated by rich variances in surface textures.”

El Anatsui, Womb of Time, 2014

El Anatsui, Womb of Time, 2014

One of my favorite pieces of this show was a sculpture entitled, “Womb of Time.” Suspended from the ceiling, the piece can be experienced both from the outside and inside. Though it probably weighs quite a lot, the sculpture seems light and airy like an eggshell.

El Anatsui: Metas will be on view until December 13th.

Derrik Adams: LIVE and IN COLOR on the UES
Derrick Adams Sculpture from LIVE and IN COLOR

Derrick Adams Sculpture from LIVE and IN COLOR

Bold colors, clean lines, and simplistic images draw you in as you wander through “LIVE and IN COLOR. ” The two floor exhibit, now on view at the Tilton Gallery on East 76th Street,  features the work of the multidisciplinary artist,  Derrick Adams.

Derrick Adams, They All Want Cake, 2014
Derrick Adams, They All Want Cake, 2014, detail

While Adams works in performance, painting, sculpture and music; this show has both wood sculptures and large-scale mixed media collage. According to the Tilton Gallery, the work is meant to capture “the bold character-dramatizations of black figures in entertainment. Stills and screen captures from sitcoms, music videos, news and stand-up are the point of departure for the work and are used mainly for reference and inspiration,”

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While I enjoyed looking at the sculptures, I was more drawn to the collages. Each collage piece Adams used was very simple. Yet taken as a whole, created a complex image that drew you in to examine it more carefully.

The exhibit will be on view through October 18th.

Last Week To See Alice Aycock’s “Park Ave Paper Chase”
Cyclone Twist

Cyclone Twist

They’ve been up since March along Park Avenue, from 52nd-66th Street, but I just recently had a chance to look at them close-up. I’m talking about a suite of seven huge sculptures in aluminum and fiberglass that were created by sculptor, Alice Aycock. The group of sculptures is called “Park Avenue Paper Chase,” and are said to be inspired by tornadoes, dance movements and drapery folds.

My favorite was Cyclone Twist which you can see on 57th Street. I found it most impressive when viewed close-up. But they are all worth seeing and they will only be on view until July 20th.

This exhibition, and others, are presented by The Sculpture Committee of The Fund for Park Avenue and the Public Art Program of the City of New York’s Department of Parks & Recreation. The Park Avenue Malls Sculpture Advisory Committee, under the auspices of The Fund for Park Avenue, was established in 2000 to identify and recommend artwork for temporary display on the Park Avenue Malls.

Stay tuned for future exhibitions.