Hiroshi Sugimoto. "Mathematical Model 002 Dini's surface: a surface of constant negative curvature obtained by twisting a pseudosphere," 2005. © Hiroshi Sugimoto, Courtesy The Pace Gallery. Photo courtesy the artist and The Pace Gallery.
In this week’s roundup Hiroshi Sugimoto explores a Buddhist stupa, Florian Maier-Aichen lectures in NYC, Pratt honors Laurie Anderson and William Wegman, Matthew Ritchie debuts in Los Angeles, and more.
- Hiroshi Sugimoto: Surface of the Third Order presents new sculptures by Hiroshi Sugimoto, at the Pace Gallery (NYC). Made from optical-quality glass, each Five-Element Pagoda is based on the form of a thirteenth-century Japanese Buddhist stupa, a traditional reliquary used to hold the ashes of Buddha. Enshrined within the sphere of each pagoda is a unique photograph from Sugimoto’s Seascapes series (begun in 1980). This show closes December 23.
- Laylah Ali, Martha Colburn, Ann Hamilton, Raymond Pettibon and 26 other artists interspersed with poetry works are part of The Air We Breathe, a thematic exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) that explores issues surrounding the cause to legalize same-sex marriage. The show’s title is drawn from a Langston Hughes poem: “Equality is in the air we breathe,” from Let America Be America Again. The poem was written in 1938 but still resonates today. The exhibition is on view until February 20, 2012.
- Carrie Mae Weems is one of three artists in Narrative Interventions in Photography, at the J. Paul Getty Museum (Los Angeles). This show includes 34 pieces primarily drawn from the Getty’s collection which contains images that are intimate and shocking, puzzling and poignant. Each artist expresses a new narrative by altering literary objects in their works, either by mutilating books, inserting words, or shredding printed pages. The exhibition closes March 11, 2012.
- Florian Maier-Aichen will lecture as part of the Aperture and the Photography Program in the School of Art, Media, and Technology at Parsons The New School for Design (NYC) on Tuesday, November 15. Maier-Aichen often pays homage to the work of the pioneer photographers of the 19th century. He marries digital technology with traditional processes and films (black-and-white, color infrared, and tricolor), restoring and reinvigorating the artistry and alchemy of early photography.
- Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle employs footage shot on a high-speed film camera for Always After, a public art project that focuses on the broken glass accumulated after the windows of the Mies-designed Illinois Institute of Technology’s Crown Hall were smashed by the architect’s own grandson as part of a ceremony in advance of the building’s renovation. The project operates electronic exhibition sites along the Connective Corridor in Syracuse, NY at Syracuse Stage and the Everson Museum of Art. This work will be projected on site until December 31.
- James Turrell will soon install a new Skyspace light project, Building in the LIGHT, in Northwest Philadelphia. The Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting (CHFM) will be building a new meetinghouse within the next year and will feature Turrell’s work which is similar to the one at the Quaker Meetinghouse in Houston, Texas. Incorporating a Skyspace in this new, environmentally-friendly building and surrounding gardens and woods will not only accommodate the vibrant local Quaker community, but also offer people of all faiths a place to gather for quiet reflection, fellowship, education, and social action.
- Last week Pratt Institute honored Laurie Anderson and William Wegman as “distinguished individuals whose accomplishments and values resonate with those of Pratt.” The occasion was the school’s annual Legends scholarship benefit.
- Julie Mehretu headlines Seeing/Knowing, an exhibition at the new Gund Gallery (Gambier, Ohio) that explores the contemporary overlap between art and data — work that expresses knowledge in graphical terms. Mehretu’s Auguries is the first piece on display. It channels architectural systems and layered vectors across 12 panels. In addition, Seeing/Knowing showcases up-and-coming artists. This show closes March 4, 2012.
- Matthew Ritchie‘s Los Angeles debut, Monstrance, includes paintings, drawings, sculpture, a site-specific multimedia installation and a performance. The title refers to a ritual vessel created in the medieval period for the public display of relics, and is derived from the Latin word meaning ‘to show.’ In the performance, presented at the exhibition’s opening, a masked singer, representing the many forms of the sun, presents the ‘office of the evening’ as the sun sets. This exhibition is on view at L&M Arts (Los Angeles) until December 10.
- Mark your calendars now for the next stops of a traveling exhibition of work by Mark Bradford that will be view at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) from February 18 through June 17, 2012, and at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA) from February 18 through May 27, 2012. These will be the only West Coast presentations of this show, a major museum survey of paintings, sculptures, and multimedia works by Bradford.