Nancy Shaver

THE AGREEMENT: CHROMATIC PRESENCES

curated by William Corwin

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Zurcher Gallery, New York

April 2 - May 11, 2022

 

 

The Agreement: Chromatic Presences
In the story of Noah and the Ark, after the flood, the
creator who has just destroyed almost all the evidence
of their artistic practice—aka God—makes a binding
promise to never do it again. They present the world
with a gift, one which is unexpected and extraordinary.
It is a sculpture: a bow of many colors. In eff ct, God
is making a bond between themselves and all living
creatures through the presentation of an art object.
Whenever this object, this pledge, appears in the skies
after a storm, all living beings will know that they are
safe, at least from cataclysmic destruction.

 

“The Agreement: Chromatic Presences” is an examination of the connection the viewer feels towards a polychrome sculpture that shares their space. It hearkens back to this original notion that
these objects, simultaneously real and impossible, symbolize a pact between ourselves and the inscrutable and unknowable.

This exhibition is a tribute to Lynn Umlauf (1942-2022), and features her work and the sculpture of 11 other artists; Poppy DeltaDawn, Tom Doyle, Daniel Giordano, Remy Jungerman, Shervone Neckles, Ugo Rondinone, Andrew Ross, Nancy Shaver, Kianja Strobert, Sun You, and William Corwin.

Sculpture is about presence: it intrudes into lived space and takes on the role of an obstacle—it has to be acknowledged in passing. In terms of this surrogate presence, there are two ways to read color in sculpture: it can be used to reinforce an impostor of the real, slyly persuading the viewer that what they see is not a fabrication, but exists without the hand of the artist; then there is the option which openly declares that one is in the presence of something outside of the real. (The third path is the indulgence
in materiality which has very little to do with the subject of the sculpture itself and much more to do with notions of beauty and the culture surrounding the artist.)
Daniel Giordano, Cannoli (My Falcore), 2016-2022
Andrew Ross, Fight Loop Sconce, 2021

 

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Nancy Shaver
Looking for a cup of coffee, 2015-18
found base, metal rod, wooden blocks, fabric, paper, flashe acrylic
35.5 x 11.5 x 12 in / 90,17 cm x 29,21 cm x 30,48 cm
Courtesy of Derek Eller Gallery, New York