Andrea Zittel, "Single Strand Shapes: Forward Motion with 90˚ and 180˚ Rotations (Black and Ivory)," 2009. Crocheted black and ivory wool on plywood. Courtesy Andrea Rosen Gallery
single strand, forward motion, an exhibition of new works by Season 1 artist Andrea Zittel, will open at Andrea Rosen Gallery tomorrow, Friday, February 6. This is the artist’s ninth solo exhibition at the gallery.
In a statement for the exhibition, Zittel writes:
I feel that my practice continually negotiates the fine line between emancipation and restriction, and in doing so reveals how creativity often stems from a reaction to a series of constraints. The works in this show attempt to bridge these concerns in both art and life and to show how problem solving and planning can result in a complex visual language…I have been recently drawn into a reinvestigation of logic based works such as Frank Stella’s black paintings (in which the logic of the making fully embodies the resulting shape), Sol LeWitt’s wall drawings (in terms of setting up a series of rules that can create a coherent visual structure), and incremental works such as Carl Andre’s floor pieces (which also embody an element of time and distance because one is required to ‘travel’ in order to view the entire work). All of these works have fundamental elements both formal and conceptual that have strongly influenced my own work.
single strand, forward motion will include a series of bronze hooks titled Energetic Accumulators: Digits that, in the exhibition space, become a temporary armature for some of Zittel’s own personal accumulations: a group of sewing scissors inherited from her grandmother, and a collection of tea bags. Although placed in sometimes random and/or temporary arrangements, the accumulated objects are organized into a regulated system by the supporting armatures.
Walking Patterns, a performance piece, begins with participants in a parallel line walking to the rhythm of a simple percussive soundtrack, the sound of hands clapping. Each performer begins to walk a pattern based on a simple crochet element; the process of “linking chains” is translated to walking steps. Performances of Walking Patterns will occur on February 6 from 6-8pm, and on Saturday, February 7 at noon and 3pm. These events are free and open to the public.
