Rebecca Warren
dal 9/3/2009 al 18/4/2009
Segnalato da
9/3/2009
Rebecca Warren
Serpentine Gallery, London
The artist challenges sculptural conventions while also engaging with the history of figurative sculpture and her position within this predominantly male tradition. Her shape-shifting sculptures in clay and bronze range from amorphous to more recognisable forms, which are sometimes sexually explicit, embracing both the formal and the grotesque.
The exhibition is curated by Julia Peyton-Jones, Director, Hans Ulrich
Obrist, Co-Director, and Kathryn Rattee, Curator, Serpentine Gallery.
The Serpentine Gallery presents the first major solo show in a UK public
gallery of the work of British artist Rebecca Warren (b. 1965). Warren is
known internationally for her exuberant, roughly-worked clay
sculptures, bronzes and vitrines containing carefully assembled objects
that the artist has collected.
Described as ‘an original and formidable talent’, Warren’s oeuvre
combines rich art historical and contemporary references. The artist
challenges sculptural conventions while also engaging with the history of
figurative sculpture and her position within this predominantly male
tradition. Alongside such art historical figures as Edgar Degas and
Auguste Rodin, Warren’s work also refers to contemporary artists such
as Swiss duo Fischli/Weiss and sculptor Charles Ray.
Warren’s shape-shifting sculptures in clay and bronze range from
amorphous to more recognisable forms, which are sometimes sexually
explicit, embracing both the formal and the grotesque. She says of her
work: ‘Though my work evolves through a process of appropriation and
reference, it is non-didactic, being closer to revelation and discovery’.
Her vitrines play with ideas of display and value, imparting a sense of
the museological to an array of otherwise unassuming objects and
materials.
This Serpentine Gallery exhibition displays pieces from throughout
Warren’s career, and features a selection of her best known works
including the iconic Helmut Crumb (1998), work from The Agony and the
Ecstasy (2000) and Dark Passage (2004), alongside new work made
specifically for this exhibition.
Rebecca Warren lives and works in London. She was nominated for the
Turner Prize in 2006, and for the Vincent Award, 2008, at the Stedelijk
Museum, Amsterdam. Her work was also the subject of a major solo
exhibition at Kunsthalle Zurich in 2004.
A
catalogue will be published to coincide with the exhibition, with essays
by Martin Herbert and Barry Schwabsky.
Image: The Mechanic, 2000. Reinforced clay and twig on MDF on wheels 48 x 36 x 48 cm. Courtesy of Ash Fine Art © 2009 Rebecca Warren
For press information, contact:
Rose Dempsey, 020 7298 1520, rosed@serpentinegallery.org
Fleur Treglown, 020 7298 1528, fleur@serpentinegallery.org
Serpentine Gallery
Kensington Gardens London W2 3XA
Open daily, 10am - 6pm
Admission free