 Baghdad Relic, 2004 neon light, transformer and found objects, 60 x 52 x 7" (152.4 x 132.1 x 17.8 cm) Keith Sonnier Keith Sonnier, an exhibition of selected neon-light sculptures, will be on view at PaceWildenstein, 32 East 57th Street, New York City. The exhibition will feature nine neon wall-mounted constructions from 2004, a neon sculpture with found objects from 1994, and two early works from 1968 that incorporate incandescent light fixtures and sheer fabric. The new works from 2004 include smaller, more intimate wall installations ranging in size from 30 x 27" to 68 x 70". One series of work on view, which developed out of drawings of palm trees indigenous to New Orleans, radiate piercing yet tranquil atmospheric greens and blues. Another group of sculptures reference the war in Iraq through the artist's arrangement of light, wires, and found objects. Reflecting on Sonnier's new work Klaus Kertess writes, "The airiness, fragility, sensuous ambiguity, aching beauty, and laid back formal inventiveness of these works are the manifestations of a creator of brilliance in all the senses of that word". Widely known for his light sculptures, Sonnier emerged out of a generation of artists in the late 1960s and early 1970s, including contemporaries Richard Tuttle, Barry Le Va, Eva Hesse, and Richard Serra, who used low-end, unconventional, and non-art related materials. Sonnier's sculptures, many of which combine neon and incandescent light fixtures with wires, transformer boxes, and found objects, along with his public commission installations, explore the reflection and diffusion of light by means of material, architectural space, and attention to formal detail. Keith Sonnier's work can be found in numerous public collections worldwide including: the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, CT; the Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge; the Kunsthalle Nurnberg, Germany; the Moderna Museet, Stockholm; the Musée d'Art Contemporain, Montreal; The Museum of Contemporary Art, LA; The Museum of Modern Art, NY; the Sprengel Museum, Hannover; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, NY. A full color catalogue with an introductory essay by Klaus Kertess will accompany the exhibition. Exhibition: January 7 - February 5, 2005 Gallery hours: Tue-Fri 9:30am - 6pm, Sat 10am - 5pm PaceWildenstein 32 E. 57th St. 2nd floor USA-New York, NY 10022 Telephone + 1 212 421 3292 Fax + 1 212 421 0835 Email info@pacewildenstein.com www.pacewildenstein.com |
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