29 April – 11 June, 2015
Exhibition
Opening reception: Wednesday April 29, 6 — 8 pm
In a triumphant return to New York, Belgian artist Fred Eerdekens will present an exhibition of major new works and installations at Spencer Brownstone Gallery.
Best known for his artful manipulation of light and shadow, Eerdekens has been creating sculptural shadow-play which examines our understanding of text and language for over thirty years. Along with the copper sentences that are his signature, he has created art from materials as diverse as old clothes, artificial trees, and pantry items. By arranging such unexpected materials in precise formations, with the application of light, a shadow is cast revealing text that is both revelatory and mysterious. It is through this juxtaposition of material and language that gives his art such power.
For this exhibition, he returns to some familiar techniques, though at a scale that is unprecedented. The installation will transform the gallery spaces, creating an immersive experience for visitors. In keeping with the concepts of impermanence and mutability that are constants in his work, he focuses here on a more concrete representation - the circle. Envisioned as emblematic of the dual nature of his work, these circles are openings onto different interpretations: allowing the viewer to pass between the physical presence of the installation to the statements revealed in the shadows cast by it. The title of the exhibition, One looking at it, One looking through captures this duality by encouraging that each piece to be considered from more than one perspective. Metaphorically, the circle becomes both container and aperture, the number 'zero', an endless path, in itself encompassing the plastic nature of symbols that is so central to Eerdekens' practice.
Artist Bio
Fred Eerdekens' ( born 1951, Hasselt, BE) installations have been shown extensively at museums and galleries worldwide and are featured in the collections of MUHKA, Antwerp; SMAK, Brussels; FRAC Languedoc-Roussillon, and Museo d'Arte Moderno, Bolanzo among others. As well, he has completed a number of large, site-specific installations, for important public and private spaces.