Tag: monumental

Carol Bove at David Zwirner Gallery

Crushed tubular steel in an electric orange color provocatively juxtaposes and compliments salvaged sheets of rolled steel in Carol Bove’s dramatic sculptural installation at David Zwirner Gallery.  Titled ‘Chimes at Midnight’ after a 1965 Orson Wells film in which two characters speak of mortality, the sculptures’ industrial materials summons the past while soft, malleable-looking orange segments speak to a future in formation.  In its reckoning between past and present, the sculptures continue Bove’s engagement with history in her current sculptural commission on the façade of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  (On view at David Zwirner Gallery).

Carol Bove, installation view of Chimes at Midnight at David Zwirner Gallery

‘Claes & Coosje: A Duet’ at Pace Gallery

Right after the giant fork holding spaghetti and a meatball, the monumental sculpture ‘Dropped Bouquet’ is an immediate draw in Pace Gallery’s new show of collaborative work by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen from the 80s onward.  Surrounded by lighthearted works evoking music (including canvas violas, lutes and a trumpet) and flying neckties and pieces of pie, the flowers elicit delight with their cheery color and disorienting scale.  (On view in Chelsea through May 1st.  Masks, social distancing and appointments are required.)

Oldenburg/van Bruggen, Dropped Bouquet, painted aluminum, 12’ 3” x 9’ 3” x 14’ 10”, 2021.

Jean Dubuffet at Pace Gallery

Drawn to art made outside of the gallery system, the iconic late artist Jean Dubuffet pursued his own non-academic style in abstract installations meant to bring to mind scenes of busy urban life.  Chelsea’s Pace Gallery explains that ‘Le Cirque,’ a 13’ high sculpture from 1970 currently installed on 25th Street, recreated the ‘visual frenzy of an urban plaza.’ In an accompanying letter from the artist to his dealer, Pace founder Arne Glimcher, Dubuffet points to ancient sources of inspiration for this towering, encompassing sculpture, including stones placed at crossroads or assembled for commemoration.  (On view through Oct 24th.  Appointments, masks and social distancing are required.)

Jean Dubuffet, Le Cirque, polyurethane paint on epoxy, 13’ x 29’ x 31’, 1970-2020.

Tony Smith at Pace Gallery

It comes as no surprise when pondering ‘Tau,’ currently installed at Pace Gallery’s 25th Street location, that sculptor Tony Smith began his career as an architect, building spaces designed to be experienced by bodies in motion.  Towering over visitors to the gallery’s 25th Street space, the sculpture’s sleek sophistication invites admiration from all angles.  (On view in Chelsea through June 22nd).

Tony Smith, (foreground) Tau, steel, painted black, 14’ x 21’ 6” x 12’ 4,” 1961-2 and (background) Source, steel, painted black, 9’ 5 ½” x 25’ 1/4” x 24’ 5 3/8,” 1967.

Mark di Suvero at Paula Cooper Gallery

“And yet it moves” is the translated titled of this new monumental steel sculpture by Mark di Suvero, referring to Galileo’s 17th century assertion (despite pressure from the Inquisition) that the earth is not stable. Likewise, this formidably weighty sculpture looks fixed but will rock on its axis if set in motion. (On view at Paula Cooper Gallery in Chelsea through Feb 3rd.)

Mark di Suvero, Eppur si Muove, stainless steel, 10.5 x 28 x 12 feet, 2017 – 2017.