Hightlights of the fall season at Paula Cooper Gallery, with director Alexis Johnson

Christian Marclay
Surround Sounds
September 10 – October 17, 2015
Paula Cooper Gallery

CHRISTIAN MARCLAY, REPRESENTED BY PAULA COOPER GALLERY IN NEW YORK, IS ONE OF THE MOST COMPELLING AND INNOVATIVE ARTISTS TODAY PRODUCING MULTI-FACETED WORK HIGHLY ACCLAIMED BY THE  INTERNATIONAL CONTEMPORARY ART WORLD. IN 2011, MARCLAY RECEIVED THE GOLDEN LION AWARD FOR BEST ARTIST AT THE 54th VENICE BIENNALE FOR HIS BRILLIANT TWENTY-FOUR HOUR VIDEO PIECE, THE CLOCK.

Christian Marclay
The Clock

FIRST PREMIERING IN LONDON IN 2010, THE CLOCK HAS SINCE BEEN EXHIBITED WORLDWIDE IN MORE THAN TWENTY VENUES THAT INCLUDE THE CENTRE POMPIDOU, PARIS, THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, NEW YORK, AND THE GUGGENHEIM BILBAO. IN THE CLOCK, MARCLAY INTEGRATES THOUSANDS OF EXCERPTS INTO A FILM THAT ADDRESSES THE PASSAGE OF TIME. SPANNING AN ENORMOUS RANGE OF TIMEPIECES, FROM CLOCK TOWERS TO WRISTWATCHES TO BUZZING ALARMS, MARCLAY HAS EXTRAPOLATED EACH OF THESE MOMENTS FROM THEIR ORIGINAL CONTEXT AND EDITED THEM TO FORM A 24-HOUR MONTAGE THAT UNFOLDS IN REAL TIME.

I FIRST VIEWED A  LITTLE, BUT NOT NEARLY ENOUGH, AT WHITE CUBE IN LONDON – JUST A SNEAK PREVIEW BECAUSE THE FRIEZE ART FAIR AND THE LONDON AUCTIONS DEMANDED MY ATTENTION. I WAS MESMERIZED AND DELIGHTED TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE MORE AT A LATER DATE IN NEW YORK WHEN PAULA COOPER, DEMONSTRATING  THE KIND OF SUPPORT THE GALLERY PROVIDES ITS ARTISTS, OFFERED 24-HOUR WEEKEND SCREENINGS OF THE CLOCK AT THE GALLERY.

The clocks in each clip document the time throughout the 24 hour movie.
(© Christian Marclay. Courtesy Paula Cooper Gallery, New York, and White Cube, London.)

TODAY, I AM VERY PLEASED TO HAVE PAULA COOPER’S ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, ALEXIS JOHNSON, CONTINUE HER CONTRIBUTION TO THE LRFA BLOG WITH DETAILS ON MARCLAY’S MOST RECENT WORK, ONE OF THE FALL HIGHLIGHTS AT THE GALLERY, OPENING ON SEPTEMBER 10th, AT 534 WEST 21st STREET. http://www.paulacoopergallery.com/exhibitions

ALEXIS, THANK YOU. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE FORTHCOMING THE GALLERY AND IN OTHER VENUES THAT WE CAN ANTICIPATE FOR THE ARTISTS THAT YOU SUPERVISE AT THE GALLERY?

There are a lot of exciting highlights on the horizon!
Christian Marclay continues to create exceptional and mesmerizing video with his installation entitled, Surround Sounds which we will show along with new work by the artist September 11 – October 17, 2015 at 534 West 21st Street.

The Paula Cooper Gallery is pleased to present Surround Sounds (2014-15), a new video work by Christian Marclay premiering in North America this fall. The large-scale, synchronized video installation consists of animated onomatopoeias projected onto four walls of a darkened room. To make the work, Marclay drew from a collection of comic books, cutting out sound effects and animating them in a choreography that suggests the acoustic properties of each word. “Whizz” and “zoom” speed across the walls; “beep” blinks persistently, while “thump” falls rhythmically onto the floor. Though silent, the work plays like a musical composition, merging the aural with the visual and providing an immersive perceptual experience.
If you are in London, be sure to visit Trafalgar Square to see Hans Haacke’s fantastic commission for the Fourth Plinth, Gift Horse. Although the horse looks perfectly at home in the Square it is only on view through Fall 2016, so don’t miss it!

Hans Haacke
Gift Horse
2015

Liz Glynn and Justin Matherly are two “current generation” artists that the gallery represents. Glynn work looks at artifacts as a way to trace history and politics through sculpture and performance. Matherly is known for large-scale cast cement sculptures that often reference Hellenistic or Roman statuary. The sculptures are cast with ambulatory equipment that calls to mind the decay of the human body.

 

Justin Matherly
‘New Beaches’, 2012
126 x 132 x 72 inches
Glass reinforced concrete and ambulatory supports
A Project of the Public Art Fund

Justin Matherly’s monumental sculpture, New Beaches, is included in the group exhibition Avatar und Avatismus at the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, August 22 – November 8, 2015. We will have a one-person show of new work by Matherly in November 2015.

 

Liz Glynn
PATHOS (The Blind Exercises)
September 12 – October 10, 2015
Paula Cooper Gallery

We will present a selection of new sculptures by Liz Glynn entitled, PATHOS (The Blind Exercises). The series is comprised of hand-crafted clay masks that refer to ancient Greek theater. It will be on view from September 10 – October 10, 2015 at 529 W. 21st Street.

The Xerox Book
Carl Andre, Robert Barry, Douglas Huebler, Joseph Kosuth, Sol LeWitt, Robert Morris, Lawrence Weiner

ANOTHER VERY INTERESTING EXHIBIT OPENING AFTER LABOR DAY GAINS ITS CURATORIAL INSPIRATION FROM THE 1968 PUBLICATION KNOWN AS THE XEROX BOOK. THIS EXHIBIT REPRESENTS ANOTHER SIGNPOST OF THE GALLERY’S COMMITMENT TO INFORM US ON THE HISTORICAL AESTHETIC OF THE MINIMAL AND CONCEPTUAL ARTISTS THAT REPRESENT THE BACKBONE OF THE GALLERY.

The show, on view from September 12th through October 24th, will include work from all seven artists who participated in the original project: Carl Andre, Robert Barry, Douglas Huebler, Joseph Kosuth, Sol LeWitt, Robert Morris and Lawrence Weiner. The Paula Cooper Gallery is pleased to present a group exhibition inspired by the 1968 publication known as the Xerox Book. The show, on view from September 12th through October 24th, will include work from all seven artists who participated in the original project: Carl Andre, Robert Barry, Douglas Huebler, Joseph Kosuth, Sol LeWitt, Robert Morris and Lawrence Weiner. 

The Xerox Book raised questions about the making, display, ownership, distribution, and sale of art. The publication proved to be a landmark in the Conceptual Art movement, and established its seven authors as the movement’s first generation artists.

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE DIRECTION OF THE CONTEMPORARY ART WORLD AND ITS MARKET?

The art world appears to be on a track of continued expansion. There has been an increase in the number of artists and collectors. Large galleries are expanding their physical space and adding new locations. Meanwhile, the small to mid-size galleries are struggling to stay open. Every few months there is an announcement of a museum building expansion or a private collector building a museum. At this point what city does not have an art fair? What does all of the expansion actually mean and is it good for art? That is another question for which I do not have the answer, so I guess we will have to wait and see.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH, ALEXIS.

THE LRFA BLOG IS HONORED TO INTRODUCE STACEY GERSHON,  DIRECTOR OF THE HANS HOFMANN FOUNDATION, IN OUR NEXT POST. STACEY WAS THE SENIOR CURATOR OF WHAT IS NOW KNOWN AT THE JPMORGAN CHASE ART COLLECTION, ORIGINALLY ESTABLISHED BY DAVID ROCKEFELLER WHO CREATED A LEGENDARY CORPORATE ART PROGRAM. STACEY BRINGS US A PROFOUND EXPERTISE ON COLLECTION MANAGEMENT AND THE DYNAMICS OF ARTISTS’ FOUNDATIONS.

THE LRFA BLOG WELCOMES ALL COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS, VERY MUCH APPRECIATES THE TIME AND EXPERTISE OF ITS CONTRIBUTORS AND TERRIFIC SUPPORT OF ITS READERS. THANK YOU ALL!