News
An Exhibition Proposes Alternatives to Removing Contentious Statues
The Chazen Museum of Art in Wisconsin is presenting “re:mancipation,” a multifaceted effort to add context to a 130-year-old sculpture.
In 2020, as statues of Confederate generals and other contentious historical images were being taken down in many cities, Sanford Biggers, the acclaimed New York-based contemporary artist, and Amy Gilman, the director of the Chazen Museum of Art at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, were watching with keen interest.
NY Times: Radical Rethinking at Biennale: Africa and the Future Share Pride of Place
Venice Architecture Biennale: American architect Germane Barnes
Barnes’ entry also reflects some of this Biennale’s interest in resetting architectural practice according to a less restrictive and more global set of priorities. The centerpiece of his contribution is a solitary monolithic “Identity Column,” under a bright spotlight, made from a single rippling piece of black marble. The column, according to Barnes, “demands a reorientation of foundational principles” in architecture, “one that positions Africa and its descendants as a force to be acknowledged and revered.”
The Met Acquires Monumental Charles Ray Sculpture
New York — The Met announced today the acquisition of the monumental sculptural relief Two Horses(2019) by American artist Charles Ray (b. 1953). Two Horses is now on view at The Met in gallery 918 of the Lila Acheson Wallace Wing. The ten-by-fourteen-foot granite relief by the acclaimed artist portrays two horses in profile, one fully articulated and a second figure behind it that is partially seen, evoking a ghost-like presence. The Met also announced that it will present an exhibition of the artist’s work in late 2021. Click here to read full article. THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, Photo by PARI STAVE
NY Times: Martin Puryear, Citizen-Sculptor
On the eve of the Venice Biennale, the artist’s shaping hand frames a view of his troubled, and troubling, homeland
“This moment has caught me being as much a citizen as an artist,” said the sculptor Martin Puryear on an afternoon in his studio in New York’s Hudson River Valley early in April. In two days he would leave for Venice to begin installing a solo exhibition at the 58th Venice Biennale in which he will officially represent the United States. Rising to that responsibility can’t be easy in an American “moment” tense with divisive politics, resurgent racism, and gun violence. Yet anyone who has followed this artist’s 50-year career, knows he is more than up to the task.”
