Richard Serra : NJ-2, ROUNDS: EQUAL WEIGHT, UNEQUAL MEASURE, ROTATE

 

Richard Serra “NJ-2, ROUNDS: EQUAL WEIGHT, UNEQUAL MEASURE, ROTATE” at Gagosian September 16 – December 17th, 2016
Review By Ricke Marc Anthony

Richard Serra has huge pieces of weatherproof steel on display at the Gagosian.

Behold a sculptor’s work, to imagine the magnitude of what needs to be imagined always has a way of exciting the curiosity. Entering the airy, well-lit and obviously incredibly quiet atmosphere; A wave of four white walls holds NJ-2, the titanic on display. An opening presents itself before you, a U-shaped steel passage way which you enter a dance with while making your way through the inner snake form of NJ-2. Immediately you begin to understand why Serra’s a well-recognised international master of marvellous minimalist sculptures. Walking through takes longer than expected yet the feel of a temporal displacement lingers as your eyes adjust to the constantly changing space, light, color, volume, and your own mass inside the frame of NJ-2. Whilst contemplating its orignal form a break reveals itself enticing the idea of solitude using the galleries well-lit atmospherical glare to create a tranquil atmosphere. NJ-2 tricks the perspective with an interlocking set of grand corten steel U-shapes letting you journey through what feels like a canyon leaving you with a genuine feeling of sensuality.

“I am the sculptor who is interested in the invention of form…” – Richard Serra

Richard Serra “NJ-2, ROUNDS: EQUAL WEIGHT, UNEQUAL MEASURE, ROTATE” at Gagosian September 16 – December 17th, 2016

Equal weight, unequal measure, rotate is an exhibition resembling the mathematical geometry forms that imitate life; steel moulded and bent into organic fluid shapes, to be viewed as the creative transfer of human expression, the actions being the actual work of art rather than as a product. Serra’s work can be described as a graceful examination of how these forms can master a space. His realistic approach to cage these objects of life by removing them from there hectic habitats for review is applaudable. 

Serra’s work initiates a thought-provoking conversation on geometric abstraction, using raw materials and soft curves he uses process art as a double standard; enticing theories of influence from Brancusi and questiong practicality by comparing his work to Raphael Zarka‘s. Brancusi’s sculptures stimulate affinity from forms rooted in life, where as in comparison Serra’s sculptures transport you throughout the depths of life yet both lack the engagement of life. Zarka rewrites the space destined for a particular use similar to Serra yet you can actually use them instead of wasting the life of a material.

A great exhibition questioning the very notion of verticality, stability and mass yet lacking the essential emotive response creating a distortion of warped space. A blending of simplification and stylization as if guided by the heavens, these are pieces to be enjoyed despite the orthodox installation.

 

 Raphaël Zarka “Paving Space” Curated By Isle at Protien Studios November 17th-24th, 2016
Review By Ricke Marc Anthony