A founder of the conceptual art movement, Lawrence Weiner uses text to challenge traditional assumptions viewers may have about an object. Phrases such as “Pushed Forward/ Close By/ Pushed Aside/ Close By/ With Graceful Haste” line an S-shaped wall constructed in the north gallery of Marian Goodman as part of the artist's most recent gallery show, Gyroscopically Speaking.
The bold, curving lines that accompany most of Weiner’s pieces in the show are a tool to manipulate the viewer’s eye, the most basic goal of any visual art work. These lines also allow the viewer to maintain a sense of orientation (hence, the gyroscope) while interpreting the text. However, the phrases Weiner presents remain open to individual interpretation, and that fundamental relationship between what is being presented and how it is being interpreted is the most significant aspect of Weiner’s work.
Lawrence Weiner, TAKEN FROM THE WIND & BOLTED TO THE GROUND, 2009, LANGUAGE + MATERIALS REFERRED TO. Courtesy of the artist and Marian Goodman Gallery, New York and Paris
Mark Bradford
Contemporary art superstar Mark Bradford is the subject of the ICA’s latest blockbuster exhibition, Mark Bradford. It's also the first survey exhibition of the Los Angeles based artist’s work which consistently explores race, class and gender in American urban society. Organized by the Wexner Center for the Arts, Ohio State University, Mark Bradford includes installation, video, sculpture and the collage paintings the artist is most famous for.
