Gagosian opens an exhibition of new works by Robert Therrien
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Tuesday, December 3, 2024


Gagosian opens an exhibition of new works by Robert Therrien
Robert Therrien, No title (witch hat), 2018. Plastic, 16 5/8 x 9 1/4 x 9 1/4 inches, 42.2 x 23.5 x 23.5 cm © 2019 Robert Therrien / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo: Josh White/JWPictures.com. Courtesy Gagosian.



SAN FRANCISCO, CA.- Gagosian presents new works by Robert Therrien. This is his first solo exhibition in San Francisco in more than twenty years.

Central to Therrien’s process is the repetition and refinement of found and invented forms. As he translates seemingly simple subjects from two to three dimensions or from small to large and back again, familiar images become oddly cryptic—like ambiguous linguistic units whose meanings shift depending on their placement and orientation. Entirely new motifs emerge from this process: renderings of a chapel evolve into an oilcan; snowmen become clouds; and a stork beak is echoed in the bent tip of a witch hat.

Attesting to Therrien’s interest in cartoons and animation (especially that of Max Fleischer), new works depict puffy cloud-like forms resembling smoke signals or thought bubbles. Therrien leaves the symbols’ meaning unclear, subtly exploring their formal qualities instead, so that some clouds appear completely flat, like decals, and others more voluminous. Another painting features a pictogram from the unique code invented by migratory workers in the United States in the nineteenth century, who would draw symbols at certain locations to assist fellow drifters. Therrien shows two connected circles and three triangles, ostensibly meaning “a kind woman lives here, and she will help you if you tell a story of your hardships.” This simple yet effective cipher forms a historical precedent to his own symbolic vocabulary, epitomized by a series of four wall reliefs—cutouts of a ranch house, a chapel, a pitcher, and a barn—hanging in silhouette.

Many of Therrien’s works are manifestations of his continued and in-depth explorations of everyday objects or images. His towers of kitchenware are modeled after the pots, pans, and dishes in his studio kitchen, and his beard sculptures began with his interest in representing Constantin Brancusi’s facial hair. Hanging from a cruciform armature, No title (plaster beard) (1999) simultaneously recalls classical sculpture, religious iconography, and Surrealist techniques of fragmentation and scale distortion. Adding to this sense of fantasy, No title (stork beak) (1999) is a softly lit photographic print that shows a long beak grabbing a white bundle, signaling the Greek myth of the queen Gerana, trying to steal her baby back from the goddess Hera, who had turned her into a stork.

Therrien’s engagement with folklore continues in No title (hands and tambourines) (2018), wherein three tambourines are activated by the inclusion of simply drawn hands on a bright blue ground, and No title (witch hat) (2018), a mysterious black sculpture that echoes the artist’s “bent cone” form from the 1980s. These works capture Therrien’s unique ability to unite geometric abstraction, perspectival illusion, and realism—oscillating freely between genres and cleverly erasing the lines between them.










Today's News

March 21, 2019

Asia Week New York celebrates its 10th anniversary

Major UK gallery drops donation due to opioid links

Gagosian opens an exhibition of new works by Robert Therrien

New York's MoMA sells rare Picasso drawing in Paris

Giant squid gets makeover before showtime

Christie's announces Magnificent Jewels sale in New York

Bodleian Libraries digital collaboration brings German manuscripts from medieval monasteries to life

Dallas Museum of Art's Anna Katherine Brodbeck named Senior Curator of Contemporary Art

Mexican imprints & manuscript material leads Swann Americana Auction

Most ambitious U.S. exhibition of Ursula von Rydingsvard's influential recent work opens in Washington

Toomey & Co. Auctioneers has strong bidder interest in first 'Art & Design' sale of 2019

Guild Hall announces the launch of the museum's digitized permanent collection

Ketterer Kunst announces first Rare Books Online-Only Auction

Musicians brace for Brexit disharmony

Original comic art, toys and historic Americana generate $1.26M at Hake's March 13-14 auction

Neuberger Museum of Art announces 2019 winner of the Roy R. Neuberger Prize

Praz-Delavallade opens Pierre Ardouvin's first solo show in Los Angeles

The Queen's House, Greenwich presents new commission by Susan Derges

House on Lützowplatz opens Global National: Art on Right-Wing Populism curated by Raimar Stange

The Goss-Michael Foundation opens 'Marc Quinn: History & Chaos '

The Empty Quarter Gallery presents photographs taken in 1962 by Japanese photographer Y. Kawashima

Sander Breure and Witte van Hulzen populate Marres with sculptures and molded portraits

1936 Bentley once owned by war hero who bombed Hitler sold for £453,250

Mighty V-Twins prepare to conquer Bonhams Spring Stafford sale




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful