ADRIAN NIVOLA CATALOG

Adrian Nivola

15 FEBRUARY — 7 APRIL 2019

A dr ian Nivol a T H E I N T I M AT E A RC H I T E C T U R E OF T H E I NS T RU M E N T

TAYLOE PIGGOTT GALLERY 62 SOUTH GLENWOOD STREET JACKSON HOLE WYOMING TEL 307 733 0555 TAYLOEPIGGOTTGALLERY.COM

VENETIAN BARCAROLE, 2018 Wood, wire, acrylic, enamel 19.5 x 4 x 2 inches

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PHEASANT HARP, 2018 Wood, wire, copper 60 x 21 x 1 inches

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POCHETTE FOR BRAQUE, 2018 Wood, enamel 11 x 4 x 3.25 inches

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POMPEIIAN SERENADE, 2018 Wood, enamel 36 x 10 x 4 inches

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CURTAIN CALL, 2018 Wood, wire, enamel, silk 18 x 3.75 x 1.5 inches

10

GEOMETRIC VIOLONCELO, 2018 Wood, wire 36 x 10 x 4 inches

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CHAMBER GUITAR, 2018 Wood, wire, enamel 29 x 4 x 3 inches

14

TRIREME TOTEM, 2018 Wood, enamel, wire 28.5 x 3.5 x 3.75 inches

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SAHAR AN NIGHT MUSIC, 2018 Wood, enamel, wire, bone 14 x 1.75 x 2.75 inches

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ZITHER FOR ROBERT SMITHSON, 2018 Wood, wire, enamel, brass 13.5 x 6.5 x 1 inches

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INSTRUMENT FOR THE OLD KINGDOM, 2018 Wood 8.5 x 3 x 4.5 inches

22

ZAMBEZE IBIS LUTE, 2018 Wood, enamel, wire 24.25 x 5 x 10 inches

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INSTRUMENT OF THE INNER EAR, 2018 Wood, enamel, wire 13.75 x 3.25 x 3.5 inches

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SNAKE CHARMER, 2018 Wood, wire, brass, enamel 11.5 x 2.5 x 1 inches

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WHEELIE-JIG PLAYER, 2018 Wood, enamel, wire, brass 18 x 6 x 10 inches

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WHIPPOORWILL MELODY, 2018 Wood, enamel, wire, silk 12 x 9 x 4 inches

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PERGOLESI’S CODA, 2018 Wood, wire, enamel 24 x 11 x 3.5 inches

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Artist’s Note

The idea to invent a series of unplayable musical instruments came to mind years ago when I stumbled upon an exhibition of rare instruments from around the world at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. At first glance, I was drawn to the visual rhythms of each instrument and the lyrical quality of their intricate machinery. As I continued to examine some of the stringed objects in particular, they struck me as so complex as to be absurdly impossible to play and yet each also seemed to embody a unique expression of elegance and dignity. Beyond aesthetics, this blend of poise and pathos in the character of each instrument was most exciting to me for the playful humor and the mystery in that unlikely pairing. I wanted to make my own variations.

As the project evolved, I began to explore a range of ideas, some conceptual, others formal. I took themes from ancient Egyptian, Greek and Asian sculpture as well as from modern sources like Calder and Gabo. The project went into full gear after I saw a Picasso sculpture exhibition at the Musuem of Modern Art and felt liberated by his experimental freedom of invention with materials.

My sculpting process is mostly improvisational. I do not work from a blueprint of drawings or from any preconceived or fully realized image. I have worked on the majority of these pieces for the past two years, editing them more or less radically and spontaneously over time. Certain pieces are intended to be experienced as maquettes for vast-scaled monuments, while in others I have emphasized the tactile physicality that real instruments have when we hold them.

Each sculpture plays with the tension between the functional and aesthetic purpose of objects. I like to design things that suggest an intense commitment to serve a function only to prove useless in the end or veer severely off course. The beauty, it seems to me, may be found in the detour.

– Adrian Nivola

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62 SOUTH GLENWOOD STREET JACKSON HOLE WYOMING TEL 307 733 0555 TAYLOEPIGGOTTGALLERY.COM