untitled, 2001-2002 bronze and plaster, 52-1/2 x 48 x 30 inches (133.4 x 121.9 x 76.2 cm) Joel Shapiro Recent Sculpture "Much of the art of the twentieth century has attempted to reconcile the figurative and the abstract; Joel Shapiro is one of the few to do so in three dimensions". (The New Criterion) Joel Shapiro, one of America's preeminent artists, will exhibit recent sculptures in his first solo exhibition at L.A. Louver Gallery. In this exciting new body of work Shapiro breaks away from his allusion to human form, for which he is renown, to address natural forces in abstract terms. His use of cast bronze, plaster, steel and wood embraces the essential qualities of the various materials. Shapiro sets his sculpture in juxtaposition not only to each other but also to the architecture of the gallery - the large first floor gallery, the intimate south gallery, skylit second floor, and open air courtyard and skyroom. The radical configurations of Shapiro's sculptures and their expressive internal dynamic, energizes, challenges, and redefines the environment. This exhibition is the first time in its 28-year history that L.A. Louver has devoted all its gallery spaces to the work of one artist. Joel Shapiro emerged on the art scene in the late 1960s. He was awarded a solo show at MOCA, Chicago in 1976, and an early survey at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York in 1982. His work was included at the Venice Biennial in 1976 and Documenta, Kassel, Germany in 1977. Traveling museum shows organized by the Whitechapel Gallery, London; the Stedlijk Museum, Amsterdam; and the Louisiana Museum, Denmark followed. Shapiro's work is included in private and public collections worldwide, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art (where he was awarded an exhibition in 2001), and the Museum of Modern Art in New York; Hirschhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, and National Gallery, Washington, D.C; Tate Gallery, London; Hykytatiteen Museo, Helsinki, Finland; Israel Museum and Tel Aviv Museum of Art in Israel; Ho-Am Art Museum, Korea, and the National Gallery of Art, Canberra, Australia. Exhibition: January 16 - February 21, 2004 Gallery hours: Tue-Sat 10am - 6pm L.A. Louver Gallery 45 North Venice Boulevard USA, Venice, CA 90291 Telephone +1 310-822-4955 Fax +1 310-821-7529 Email: info@lalouver.com www.lalouver.com |
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