Two exhibitions
dal 27/2/2008 al 4/4/2008
Segnalato da
27/2/2008
Two exhibitions
Rena Bransten Gallery, San Francisco
Candida Hofer presents a series of recent photographs that takes viewers on an international tour of rooms, both public and private, in schools, palaces, operas, libraries. "Optimism (If You Want It)" is an exhibition of new sculptures by Ian McDonald. The title refers to the potential of objects to assume alternate levels of meaning when expanded, assembled, re-arranged.
The Rena Bransten Gallery (77 Geary Street, San Francisco, CA 94108) will present a
selection of recent photographs by German artist, Candida Höfer, and new sculpture
by California artist, Ian McDonald.
Candida Höfer's exhibition takes viewers on an international tour of rooms, both
public and private, in schools, palaces, operas, libraries and villas - empty of
humans but full of dazzling design and decorative detail. Even without people, the
spaces have both a presence and energy - rooms await and anticipate - furniture
stands-in for human expression and emotions. Two armchairs in a corner of
Residenzschloss Weimar XIV appear exhausted from the visual din around them --
seeking refuge or respite from endless bombardment by patterned borders,
trompe-l'oeil wall paintings, stone and tile inlay, or the intricate geometry of
wood parquetry. At the other extreme are the cool islands of file cabinets in
Graphische Sammlung Zuriche - spare sea foam green slabs line up diagonally along a
seawall of shaded windows with casings of the same pastel green. Glowing light from
over-head globes bathes the warm shoreline of herringbone flooring lapping at the
feet of the cabinets. This soothing study room is like a sunny private beach
awaiting bathers and footprints to vitalize it. Höfer documents rooms but her
photographs also reveal deeper, more expansive details for the mind's eye.
Höfer's solo exhibitions in the past two years include Kunsthaus Hamburg in Germany,
Le Louvre in France, Henie Onstad Art Center in Norway, Museum Pescheria in Italy,
and the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin, Ireland, among many others.
Ian McDonald's exhibition, Optimism (If You Want It), refers to the potential of
objects to assume alternate levels of meaning when expanded, assembled,
re-arranged, reduced, or re-configured. In exploring his ideas, McDonald fabricates
several different models. Some are multiples of ceramic forms in different sizes
and shapes arranged on table tops, pedestals, or in vitrines. Straddling the line
between surplus industrial inventory and display specimens, the vessel-like vented
objects suggest possible functions - models for war-room military field maneuvers or
disparate objects coalescing into single functional entities. Other sculpted forms
resemble organic structures like geodes or rocks - raw materials for some future
function - on display as "natural history". McDonald's title urges viewers to
process physical data positively, letting facts add up to a process that works for
the best - socially, historically, and aesthetically.
McDonald graduated from UC Santa Barbara with an MFA in 2000 and currently teaches
at the San Francisco Art Institute. His work is included in the collections of The
Museo Internazionale della Ceramiche in Faenza, Italy, the International Sculpture
Center, Denmark, and JP Morgan Chase in New York, among others.
Image: Candida Hofer
Reception: Thursday, February 28, 5:30 - 7:30 pm
Rena Bransten Gallery
77 Geary Street - San Francisco
Gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday 10:30 to 5:30 and Saturdays 11 to 5
Free admission