| Two monumental Wendell Castle bronze sculptures flank the entrance to the exhibition, followed by a forest of Nacho Carbonell’s telluric light sculptures upon arrival inside the gallery. Further inside, the viewer is immersed in a decadent installation of Studio Drift’s Fragile Future, a chapel and transcendent celestial experience. Included also is “Alaska Bench”, a sinking bronze sculpture by Virgil Abloh that suggests we are sinking into the space amongst nature and becoming one with the environment. Inspired by Venice’s surrounding water and rising sea levels, Abloh prompts us to consider the fate of Venice and our planet.
In Gallery One, the viewer is transported to a futuristic surrealism amongst amorphic ethereal works that seem to have their own intelligence and personality, like science fiction characters that come to life. Artists include Robert Stadler, Aldo Bakker, Verhoeven Twins and interactive installations by Atelier Van Lieshout, and Random International whose immersive Rain Room is in the collection of LACMA.
Traveling further through the exhibition, the viewer encounters a moment of eccentricity and iconoclasm of the NeoBaroque, exalting biomorphic, lyrical and sensual forms, made of opulent unexpected materials. Branch like structures of precious jasper jade grow into a dining table by Vincenzo DeCotiis, a performative grandfather clock by Maarten Baas, and Charles Trevelyan’s spindle like bronze console. Culminating the exhibition, one discovers in the space a jewel box of contemporary archeology, where raw materials and dark distressed patinas create a dialogue of elegant and refined textures. From the 5 million year old petrified wood Curial by Rick Owens, to the Commode Galuchat by Ingrid Donat, in dialogue the works create a timeless presence.
The exhibition features over fifty pieces by Virgil Abloh, Atelier Van Lieshout, Maarten Baas, Aldo Bakker, Sebastian Brajkovic, Fernando and Humberto Campana, Nacho Carbonell, Wendell Castle, Vincenzo De Cotiis, Ingrid Donat, Vincent Dubourg, Najla El Zein, Kendell Geers, Steven Haulenbeek, Anton Hendrik Denys, Kostas Lambridis, Mathieu Lehanneur, Frederik Molenschot, Rick Owens, Random International, Robert Stadler, Studio Drift, Charles Trevelyan, and Verhoeven Twins.
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