Off the Wall

15 April - 29 April 2020

Virtual Exhibition

VIEW THE EXHIBITION

Explore a curated collection of sculptural wall works by contemporary artists Dana Barnes, Jeff Zimmerman, Rogan Gregory and the late master Wendell Castle. Each artist’s work is inspired by organic forms and nature yet is embodied in a different medium.

For more than two decades, iconic glass artist Jeff Zimmerman has been breathing new life into the ancient art of glassblowing with his surreal works of art. His glass sculptures — influenced heavily by the natural world — seem to drip, weave, and ooze, bringing to mind “nature on an alien planet,” according to the artist himself. Featured in this exhibition are two silver mirrorized glass wall sculptures created by the artist this year.

Rogan Gregory’s wall works are studies for his larger sculptural forms hand-formed in the organic material of gypsum and set in bronze frames; they reflect the artist’s interest and inspiration in nature, outer space, marine life, and fertility forms. His unique wall-mounted illuminated sculptures are reliefs carved in white travertine offering a soft light and amorphous organicity.

An early Haas Brothers work, the “Animal Party” print is made up of five panels printed on copper paper with phosphorescent ink. This unique work transforms to a glow in the dark neon once under a blacklight. Animal party is a narrative story inspired by a documentary about animals eating the marula fruit found in the jungles of Africa.

Two diverse works by Wendell Castle, one of the first to truly blur the boundaries of art and design, are featured in this viewing room including an experiment in auto-body paint on gel-coated, fiberglass-reinforced plastic and neon. This unique work “Neon Wall Lamp” was designed and made by the artist in his Rochester studio in 1969. Exploring the breadth of his practice, also on view is a large scale wood relief sculpture in Australian Lacewood which was commissioned by his former dealer, Sandy Miliken, for his SOHO loft in 1980.

Dana Barnes’ creates sculptural and textural works made solely by hand. Using innovative wet bonding process woolen and exotic fibers are fused with contrasting elements to form abstract compositions. Included among Dana’s work is a new piece created for the 2020 Armory Show, informed by an ʻAʻā  magna flow, the sculpted mass celebrates the organic movement of the textural form, solidified in time.