Joel Morrison
dal 8/5/2011 al 24/6/2011
Segnalato da
8/5/2011
Joel Morrison
Gagosian Gallery - Madison Ave, New York
Joel Morrison's sculptures take found, everyday objects to fantastic ends. Objects and materials, such as mannequin busts, toys, bubble-wrap, light bulbs, shopping carts, and bullets, are stripped of purpose and assembled into newly polymorphous forms which are then cast in luminous stainless steel or encased under painted fiberglass.
“Each work has multiple conceptual references, complex layers of
information and a simple but searing punch line.” -Joel Morrison
Gagosian Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of new sculptures by
Joel Morrison. This is his first solo exhibition in New York.
Joel Morrison’s sculptures take found, everyday objects to fantastic
ends. Objects and materials, such as mannequin busts, toys, bubble-wrap,
light bulbs, shopping carts, and bullets, are stripped of purpose and
assembled into newly polymorphous forms which are then cast in luminous
stainless steel or encased under painted fiberglass.
The gleaming refinement of Morrison’s stainless steel sculptures belies
the intense amount of physical labor required to create them. Quickly and
impulsively assembled, they are then subjected to the lengthy and arduous
process of casting and intense polishing. One such work, Wiffle Ball
(2010), calls to mind Salvador Dalí’s Retrospective Bust of a Woman, yet
where Dali’s figure has a baguette perched ludicrously on top of her
head, Morrison’s model has a spoon stuck to her nose and a hairdo
concocted from wiffle balls, a similarly otherworldly persona. Untitled
(2009) appears to be a John McCracken sculpture encased in bubble wrap,
ready to be transported; however, it quickly becomes apparent that the
original, transitory wrapping material has been cast in stainless steel,
converting the once collapsible bubbles into obdurate sculptural forms.
Though the genesis of the fiberglass sculptures is similar to that of the
steel works, the end result shows how utterly divergent the two processes
are. Just as the stainless steel underscores the original identities of the
composite objects, the fiberglass binds and obfuscates them, so they strain
for visibility and meaning beneath the painted surface.
The gritty, prankish nature of Morrison’s sculptures defies easy
categorization as conceptual or merely formalist, as clever or decorative.
Rather they operate on a fault line between critical engagement and
spectacular aesthetics that is very much in the spirit of our times.
Joel Morrison was born in Seattle in 1976. He received his BA at Central
Washington University and an MFA in sculpture at the Claremont Graduate
University. His work has been exhibited internationally and is included in
numerous public and private collections worldwide. His work was recently
the subject of a solo exhibition at the Wexner Center for the Arts, and in
2006 he was included in the California Biennial at the Orange County Museum
of Art as well as in “Thing” at the UCLA Hammer Museum, Los Angeles.
For further information please contact Tom Duncan at tduncan@gagosian.com or the gallery at 212.744.2313
Image: JOEL MORRISON
Weather Balloon Trapped in a Shopping Cart, 2009
Stainless Steel
42 x 50 x 38 inches (106.7 x 127 x 96.5cm)
Ed. of 2 + 1AP
Opening reception for the artist: Monday May 9th, 2011 from 6-8 PM
Gagosian Gallery - Madison Ave
980 Madison Avenue, New York
Hours: Tue-Sat 10-6
admission free