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25/6/2008

Robert Morris

Monika Spruth Philomene Magers London, London

The exhibition "Morning Star Evening Star" at Monika Sprueth Philomene Magers London presents a new body of work by the American artist Robert Morris whose groundbreaking oeuvre ranges from minimal sculpture to conceptual art and performance. This new series of sculptures which originates from a period of 27 years consists of four wall-mounted reliefs entitled "Morning Terror", "Evening Terror", "Normal Terror" and "Standard Terror". Like monuments for the victims of the "war on terror", Morris" timely sculptures can be seen as modern cenotaphs, public monuments erected in the memory of victims of war and other political disasters. By differentiating between individual qualities of the feeling of terror, Morris manages to transform its abstract character into a palpable, real experience.

"Morning Terror" for example shows skeletons, faces of adults and babies emerging like death masks out of a white background. Four articles of children"s clothing are suspended on a white steel rod which stretches across the panel. Like on an outdoor clothesline the white dresses seem to blow in the wind. The alleged innocence of this image however quickly collapses as the clothing is highly codified: the little girl"s dress symbolises the innocent losses of war whereas the hooded capes refer to the iconic photographs of torture victims in Abu Ghraib. The centerpiece of this exhibition however is "Standard Terror", a monumental American flag which can barely be contained in its broken frame. It is the subtlety of the symbolic figures in the frame which consist of wrecked weapons, outstretched arms, hands scratching through this deadly material and the two "mute" paint pots that give this work its powerful presence.

The political urgency of "Morning Star Evening Star" however does not override the formal rigour and the art historical references manifested in the work. The sculptures are deeply informed by the legacy of historical sculpture such as Renaissance church portals and particularly Auguste Rodin"s "The Gates of Hell". The American flag is a reference to the work of Jasper Johns who was an important early influence for Morris. The painterly touches of "Normal Terror" and "Evening Terror" produced by using encaustic which was first introduced by Johns further indicates Morris" roots in post-Abstract Expressionist art.

Robert Morris (b. 1931) is one of the most important American artists of the post-war generation. Highly influenced by Abstract Expressionism, he developed an interest in the relationship between art, gesture and the body which resulted in groundbreaking minimal sculptures using a variety of media such as lead, plaster and felt. Morris was deeply involved in the Judson Church dance scene where he participated in performances by Yvonne Rainer and Simone Forti. His 1971 Tate Gallery retrospective which presented participatory sculptures was closed after only five days due to health and safety reasons. His infamous self-portrait which showed him in S&M gear for an Artforum ad in 1974 caused outrage amongst critics. In the late 1970s Morris turned to large-scale drawings and paintings. Morris" work has been represented in numerous museum solo exhibitions including New York"s Whitney Museum of American Art in 1970, the Art Institute of Chicago in 1980, the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art in 1986 and Washington D.C."s Corcoran Gallery of Art in 1990. In 1994 the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York organised a major retrospective of the artist"s work which traveled to the Deichtorhallen in Hamburg and the Musée National d"Art Moderne in Paris. Morris is Professor at the New York Hunter College.

Film Screening: "Morris" Mirrors", 1.7.2008, 7pm

This screening will provide the rare opportunity to see Robert Morris" "Mirror Film" (1969) together with the films of the young British filmmakers Karen Mirza and Brad Butler. "Mirror Film" which shows a winter landscape that gradually reveals itself (and the cameraman) as a reflection in a mirror engages with modernist issues of agency and authorship. While deeply rooted in the formalist rigour of "Mirror Film", Mirza and Butler open up and deepen the philosophical concerns inherent in Morris" film practice. Their work holds up the mirror to a contemporary global world enabling a dialogue between different modernisms. After the screening Mirza and Butler will join the curator Maxa Zoller for an open discussion.

Opening: Thursday, 26 June, 6 - 9 pm

Monika Spruth Philomene Magers London
7/A Grafton Street - London
Hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 10am - 6pm; and by appointment
Free admission

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