From Duchamp to Bourgeois, Harrison's curation of 20th-century sculpture looks at the study of the human body
Guided by a desire to illuminate and inspire reflection on the sculptural form, Dominique Lévy of LGDR invited American artist Rachel Harrison (born 1966) to curate a presentation of 20th-century sculpture. The exhibition that emerged comprises a group of works that consider Modernism's devotion to that most fundamental of subjects: the human figure.
Stage Fright features works by Louise Bourgeois, Constantin Brâncusi, Marcel Duchamp, Marisol, Alberto Giacometti and Alina Szapocznikow that represent the body in extremis--shown ruptured in pieces or pared down to the essentials. The individual pieces act as surrogates that stand in for the whole. Taken together, the works on view embody various conceptions of personhood as routed through objects, whether rendered with aching specificity, as in the clefts and folds of Szapocznikow's plaster Ventre (Belly) (1968), or invoked as a generic type, as in Marisol's totemic couple The Blacks (1962). Richly illustrated with installation views from the exhibition, Stage Fright features a new text by Harrison--framed as a dialogue between filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock and figure skater Peggy Fleming--that critically examines the presentation and the artist's own practice and approach.
The work of Rachel Harrison is both the zestiest and the least digestible in contemporary art. It may also be the most important. -Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker
Sitting in a Room highlights the recent work of New York-based artist Rachel Harrison (born 1966), who takes a porous, hybrid approach to objects both made and found. Spanning mediums that include sculpture, drawing, photography and painting, Harrison's nimble, layered method has always escaped easy categorization. Abstraction is shot through with vernacular references to jarring, often comic effect, as formalist concerns are forced to vie with rogue elements from the outside world.
Published in conjunction with her exhibition at the Astrup Fearnley Museet, this volume--which takes its name from a seminal work of sound art by Alvin Lucier--documents the show's distinctive format, with each gallery conceived as a specific room. From Sculpture Court to Town Square, Gym, Living Room and Cabinet, the exhibition places the viewer in contexts both intimate and public, and the original essays commissioned here expand and deepen those trajectories. Designed by Joseph Logan in close collaboration with the artist, this richly illustrated volume includes Harrison's own photography of Sitting in a Room and reflects her unique approach to the making of both exhibitions and the catalogs that outlast them.
The Perfect Pair is an entertaining rhyming tale about a Bear looking for the perfect pair with full-page colourful illustrations throughout. Perfect for parents and children to enjoy together, a read-aloud storybook and a great addition to any library. Full of distinctive animal characters and pictures.