Lisson Gallery Milan presenta una selezione storica di lavori dell'artista americano Sandback (1943-2003), la sua prima personale in Italia negli ultimi 5 anni. Nelle sale principali della galleria sono esposte 3 opere-chiave che rappresentano l'elegante e minimale metodo di organizzazione spaziale tipico dell'artista.
"A sculpture made with just a few lines may seem very purist or geometrical at first.
My work isn’t either of these things. My lines aren’t distillations or refinements of
anything. They are simple facts, issues of my activity that don’t represent anything
beyond themselves. My pieces are offered as concrete, literal situations, and not as
indications of any other sort or order." Fred Sandback, Statement, 1977
Lisson Gallery Milan presents an historic selection of works by the American artist
Fred Sandback (1943-2003), his first solo exhibition in Italy for five years. Three key
works will be displayed in the main galleries, typifying Sandback’s elegant yet minimal
methods of spatial organization. There will also be a number of drawings and scale
models of as-yet unrealised pieces dating back to his exhibition with Lisson Gallery in
London in 1977.
Each of the trio of large pieces, constructed either in black or red acrylic yarn, is
triangular in planar or plan view, including one corner work, Untitled (Cornered
Triangle, Fifth of Ten Cornered Constructions) of 1980, that utilizes three equal
lengths of acrylic fibre to create an equilateral triangle leaning against the corner of a
room, forming a tetrahedron. The other two works have triangular footprints, one
resembling a convergence of two vertical planes narrowing towards a point and the
other being constructed of three L-shaped forms that appear either to float freely or
else coalesce into a visible wedge on the gallery floor.
The suite of original drawings, executed in delicate pencil and pastel, and the resulting
small-scale maquettes, newly built to their specifications, refer to Sandback’s solo
exhibition, ‘Constructions and Drawings’, which took place at Lisson’s original gallery
location at 66-68 Bell Street, from 11 October to 19 November, 1977. These pieces
proposed for the show by Sandback were never carried out and have only now
been brought to light.
About the artist
Born in Bronxville, New York in 1943, Fred Sandback became known primarily as a
Minimalist artist, alongside his contemporaries Dan Flavin, Donald Judd, Sol LeWitt
and Carl Andre. Working with elastic cord and acrylic yarn to delineate or bifurcate
three-dimensional space, Sandback was also a forerunner of and a major influence on
many of today’s installation artists. Despite his own matter-of-fact artistic statements
about his practice, the work conjures up references to architecture, music, painting,
sculpture and even music, given his early fascination for stringed musical instruments.
Current exhibitions of his work include: ‘When Attitudes Became Form: Bern
1969/Venice 2013’ at Fondazione Prada; ‘Fred Sandback: A Drawing Retrospective’,
organized by the Kunstmuseum Winterthur, will open there in Spring 2014, and tour
to the Josef Albers Museum, Bottrop, and Museum Wiesbaden. Major solo
exhibitions of his work have been mounted at the Whitechapel Gallery (2011),
Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, Vaduz (2005 and touring); Dia Art Foundation
sponsored the Fred Sandback Museum in Winchendon, Massachusetts (1981-1996),
Sandback’s work is on permanent display at Dia:Beacon.
About Lisson Gallery
Lisson Gallery is one of the most influential and longest-running international
contemporary art galleries in the world. Established in 1967 by Nicholas Logsdail, it
pioneered the early careers of important Minimal and Conceptual artists, such as Sol
LeWitt and Richard Long, as well as those of significant British sculptors from Anish
Kapoor and Tony Cragg to a younger generation, led by Ryan Gander and Haroon
Mirza. Lisson Gallery represents 42 of the most innovative and exciting artists
working today, including six Turner Prize winners and many recipients of the Silver
Lion at the Venice Biennale. With two exhibition spaces in London, one in Milan and
an office in New York, the gallery supports and develops artists globally, including
Marina Abramovič, Allora and Calzadilla, Ai Weiwei, Gerard Byrne, Liu Xiaodong,
Tatsuo Miyajima, Rashid Rana, Pedro Reyes and Santiago Sierra. The Lisson Presents
programme also extends a legacy of curatorial innovation beyond the gallery spaces,
working with institutions and artists to present new initiatives around the world.
For press information and images please contact:
Paola C Manfredi Studio (Italy)
Tel: +39 02 87 23 80
Email: press@paolamanfredi.com
Kara Reaney and Amy Sutcliffe at Pelham Communications
Tel: +44 20 8969 3959
Email: kara@pelhamcommunications.com or amys@pelhamcommunications.com
Opening: 18 September 2013
Lisson Gallery Milan
via Zenale, 3 Milano
Orari: Lunedì - Venerdì 9.30–13.00 e 15.00–18.00
Ingresso libero