JOEL SHAPIRO
I actually never thought of my recent hanging wood sculptures in relation to Soutine. I see no influence, but some kindred spirit. I began to use wire to suspend forms from the ceiling after the collapse of the World Trade Center. Prior to that I was suspending forms in space supported from the ground via an irrational matrix of wood posts. It was an attempt to overcome the inevitable figuration that occurs when you join individual elements to develop a more complicated form. The forms were held up independently of each other, sometimes sharing support but not attached. The work implied collapse and seemed insipid after the catastrophe. The wire allowed the work to become free of the organizational constraints imposed by gravity. Gravity was no longer a deterrent but an asset. The wire could suspend, collapse and allow for more radical organization of form and expression. The dead carcass is brought to life. The urgency and immediacy of the painting overwhelms the morbidity of the subject. This is the work of the artist. (Statement to the curators, May, 2006)
SOUTINE, RABBIT, C. 1924, OIL ON CANVAS, 28 7/8 X18 7/8 IN., 73.3 X 47.9 CM., COLLECTION OF JOEL SHAPIRO AND ELLEN PHELAN
* SHAPIRO, UNTITLED, 2006, WOOD, CASEIN, AND WIRE, 66 3/8 X 23 X 23 IN., 168.6 X 58.4 X 58.4 CM., © 2006 JOEL SHAPIRO AND ARTISTS RIGHTS SOCIETY, NEW YORK, PHOTOGRAPH BY ELLEN LABENSKI, COURTESY THE ARTIST AND PACEWILDENSTEIN
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