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Extended through April 22, 2017

Walter De Maria

October 17, 2016–April 22, 2017
Le Bourget

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Installation video

Installation view Artwork © 2016 Estate of Walter De Maria. Photo: Thomas Lannes

Installation view

Artwork © 2016 Estate of Walter De Maria. Photo: Thomas Lannes

Installation view Artwork © 2016 Estate of Walter De Maria. Photo: Thomas Lannes

Installation view

Artwork © 2016 Estate of Walter De Maria. Photo: Thomas Lannes

Installation view Artwork © 2016 Estate of Walter De Maria. Photo: Thomas Lannes

Installation view

Artwork © 2016 Estate of Walter De Maria. Photo: Thomas Lannes

Installation view Artwork © 2016 Estate of Walter De Maria. Photo: Thomas Lannes

Installation view

Artwork © 2016 Estate of Walter De Maria. Photo: Thomas Lannes

Installation view Artwork © 2016 Estate of Walter De Maria. Photo: Thomas Lannes

Installation view

Artwork © 2016 Estate of Walter De Maria. Photo: Thomas Lannes

About

Any good work of art should have at least ten meanings.
—Walter De Maria

Gagosian is pleased to present two floor sculptures and a set of related drawings by Walter De Maria. This will be the first solo exhibition of De Maria’s work at Gagosian Paris, and it has been prepared in collaboration with the Estate of Walter De Maria.

A vanguard force within four major art historical movements—Minimalism, conceptual art, land art, and installation art—De Maria’s oeuvre uses mathematical absolutes and elements of the sublime to push the boundaries of the traditional white cube. In the early 1990s, De Maria conceived of, and partially constructed, Truth / Beauty, a series of fourteen sculptures in seven pairs. Completed after De Maria’s death by the Estate according to his vision, the series expands upon his use of permutations of rods, polygons, and numerical sequences intended to be viewed in a counterclockwise progression. Each pair consists of two arrangements of four rods placed upon granite bases: one composition is a chevron pattern and the other resembles an “X.” Each base has “TRUTH” and “BEAUTY” engraved on opposite sides. The first pair comprises five-sided rods, and the rods increase by two sides with each successive couple, culminating in seventeen-sided rods. The granite bases and steel rods were on view earlier this year at Gagosian London, but in Paris the arrangement has been configured specifically for the Le Bourget gallery and its mezzanine passerelle. The sculpture can be seen from the ground as well as from above, recalling the 1981–82 installation of De Maria’s 360° I Ching / 64 Sculptures at Centre Georges Pompidou, when the rods were arranged within a sunken area of the museum lobby floor and could only be viewed from the mezzanine level.

The Large Rod Series: Circle/Rectangle 11 (1986) consists of eleven eleven-sided, hand-welded, and polished stainless-steel rods. It is part of a series of rod floor sculptures from the 1980s, each pertaining to an odd number, from 5 to 13. For this particular work, there are three possible layouts: a large rectangle, a short rectangle, and a circle; here it has been configured in the short rectangle format. It occupies a room adjacent to the main gallery and has been installed atop a nineteenth-century Indian Agra rug, a juxtaposition inspired by the artist’s 1986 exhibition of the same floor sculpture on an Afghan rug.

The earliest work in the exhibition is a series of drawings, The Pure Polygon Series (1975–76), which includes seven hand-drawn pencil drawings that begin with a triangle and follow with six additional shapes in succession. Faintly traced lines on 36-inch-square American etching paper encourage intimate viewing, a level of physical engagement akin to that motivated by De Maria’s sculpture.

Toute bonne oeuvre d’art doit avoir au moins dix significations.
—Walter De Maria

Gagosian est heureuse de présenter deux sculptures au sol ainsi qu’un ensemble de dessins de Walter De Maria. Il s’agit de la première exposition des oeuvres de l’artiste à Gagosian Paris, organisée en collaboration avec la succession de Walter De Maria.

Force d’avant-garde s’inscrivant dans quatre mouvements artistiques historiques majeurs—Minimalisme, Art conceptuel, Land Art et Installation Art—l’oeuvre de Walter De Maria mêle absolus mathématiques et éléments du sublime afin de dépasser les limites du traditionnel white cube. Au début des années 1990, De Maria conçoit et réalise partiellement Truth/Beauty, une série de quatorze sculptures réparties en sept paires. Après le décès de l’artiste, l’oeuvre est achevée par sa succession dans le respect de sa vision. La série développe les méthodes de l’artiste sur la transformation de barres, de polygones et de séquences numériques, destinés à être vus dans le sens inverse des aiguilles d’une montre. Chaque paire est composée de deux bases en granit sur lesquelles reposent deux paires de deux barres en acier formant sur l’une un chevron, sur l’autre un X. Les mots «TRUTH» et «BEAUTY» sont gravés sur les faces opposées de chaque base. La première paire de la série se compose de barres à 5 faces. Le nombre de faces augmente par multiple de deux sur chaque paire successive jusqu’à atteindre 17 faces. Les bases en granit et les barres en acier ont été exposées cette année à Gagosian Londres, mais pour cette exposition, l’oeuvre a été disposée spécifiquement selon l’espace de la galerie du Bourget, afin d’être visible depuis sa mezzanine. L’ensemble peut être vu à la fois depuis le sol et d’en haut, rappelant l’installation de l’artiste 360° I Ching / 64 Sculptures de 1981–82 au Centre Georges Pompidou, où les barres étaient placées dans un espace en contrebas, uniquement visibles depuis le hall d’entrée du musée.

Large Rod Series: Circle/Rectangle 11 (1986) se compose de onze barres à onze faces, en acier inoxydable, polies et soudées à la main. Elles font partie d’une série de sculptures de barres posées au sol des années 1980, chacune avec un nombre de faces impair, de 5 à 13. Pour cette oeuvre en particulier trois dispositions sont possibles : un grand rectangle, un petit rectangle et un cercle ; ici le choix s’est porté sur le format du petit rectangle. L’oeuvre est présentée dans une salle adjacente à l’espace principal et a été installée sur un tapis indien Agra du dix-neuvième siècle; une juxtaposition inspirée de l’exposition de 1986, où cette même sculpture était présentée au sol sur un tapis Afghan.

La série de dessins The Pure Polygon Series (1975–76) est l’oeuvre la plus ancienne de l’exposition. Elle est composée de sept dessins faits à la main et au crayon à papier, débutant par un triangle et se poursuivant avec six formes différentes. Le tracé légèrement appuyé sur un papier à gravure de 91 cm2 invite à un rapport plus intime à l’oeuvre, un niveau d’engagement physique semblable à celui produit à l’approche des sculptures de De Maria.

Anna Weyant’s Two Eileens (2022) on the cover of Gagosian Quarterly, Winter 2022

Now available
Gagosian Quarterly Winter 2022

The Winter 2022 issue of Gagosian Quarterly is now available, featuring Anna Weyant’s Two Eileens (2022) on its cover.

Black and white image of Walter De Maria, 1961. Photo: George Maciunas

Walter De Maria: The Object, the Action, the Aesthetic Feeling

The definitive monograph on the work of Walter De Maria was published earlier this fall. To celebrate this momentous occasion, Elizabeth Childress and Michael Childress of the Walter De Maria Archive talk to Gagosian senior director Kara Vander Weg about the origins of the publication and the revelations brought to light in its creation.

Walter De Maria, The Lightning Field, 1977, long-term installation, western New Mexico. Artwork © Estate of Walter De Maria. Photo: John Cliett, courtesy Dia Art Foundation, New York, and © Estate of Walter De Maria

Light and Lightning: Wonder-Reactions at Walter De Maria’s The Lightning Field

In this second installment of a two-part essay, John Elderfield resumes his investigation of Walter De Maria’s The Lightning Field (1977), focusing this time on how the hope to see lightning there has led to the work’s association with the Romantic conception of the sublime.

Walter De Maria, The Lightning Field, 1977. Entire field from northwest exterior looking southeast, summer 1979

A Day in the Life of The Lightning Field

In the first of a two-part feature, John Elderfield recounts his experiences at The Lightning Field (1977), Walter De Maria’s legendary installation in New Mexico. Elderfield considers how this work requires our constantly finding and losing a sense of symmetry and order in shifting perceptions of space, scale, and distance, as the light changes throughout the day.

Gerhard Richter’s Helen (1963) on the cover of Gagosian Quarterly, Spring 2021

Now available
Gagosian Quarterly Spring 2021

The Spring 2021 issue of Gagosian Quarterly is now available, featuring Gerhard Richter’s Helen (1963) on its cover.

Frieze Sculpture New York: An Interview with Brett Littman

Frieze Sculpture New York: An Interview with Brett Littman

The inaugural presentation of Frieze Sculpture New York at Rockefeller Center opened on April 25, 2019. Before the opening, Brett Littman, the director of the Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum and the curator of this exhibition, told Wyatt Allgeier about his vision for the project and detailed the artworks included.

News

Walter De Maria, Truth / Beauty, 1990–2016 (detail) © 2016 Estate of Walter De Maria. Photo: Mike Bruce

Symposium

Walter De Maria
Truth / Beauty

Saturday, April 22, 2017, 10am–3pm
26 avenue de l’Europe, Le Bourget

To mark the final day of the exhibition Walter De Maria at Gagosian, Le Bourget, this symposium will explore the evolution of the artist’s practice, discuss how his sculpture establishes a critical relationship with its viewers, and question what this work may mean in the broader cultural world today. Speakers include Elizabeth Childress, Emanuele Coccia, Louisa Hutton, Jane McFadden, Lars Nittve, Anaël Pigeat, Matthias Sauerbruch, and Corinna Thierolf. Organized by Donatien Grau and Kara Vander Weg. To attend the free event, RSVP to rsvplebourget@gagosian.com.

Walter De Maria, Truth / Beauty, 1990–2016 (detail) © 2016 Estate of Walter De Maria. Photo: Mike Bruce