Extended through April 2, 2016
Works Exhibited
About
Prototypology explores research and development in the work of thirty contemporary artists, tracing the evolution from idea to finished artwork through drawings, archives, maquettes, and bricolage. In doing so the exhibition establishes a typology of diverse drafts.
The studio is a liminal zone for sourcing, modifying, and testing. Derived from the Italian word schizzare (to splash), a “sketch” represents the initial impulse from mind to hand, the developmental process whereby form begins to emerge. In the laboratory of the studio, bricolage is often used as an instinctual method in the construction of prototypes.
The exhibition includes new works and archival material from Michael Heizer, Takashi Murakami, Albert Oehlen, and Robert Therrien, among other artists. Studies for sculptures by Dan Graham, Claes Oldenburg, Tatiana Trouvé, and Rachel Whiteread reveal moments of process that lead to epiphanies. Monumental, civic, everyday, and otherworldly gestures are visible in a range of preparatory drawings and proposals.
These varied forms represent important instants of mutation via trial and error—in essence, the risk of experimentation that typifies the artist’s quest. Through sketches both graphic and sculptural, the process behind each artist’s production finds form.
Featuring works by Vladimir Arkhipov, Richard Artschwager, Nina Beier, Will Boone, Mike Bouchet, Chris Burden, Jason Dodge, Aleksandra Domanović, Dan Graham, Loris Gréaud, Michael Heizer, Carsten Höller, Thomas Houseago, Allan McCollum, Takashi Murakami, Albert Oehlen, Claes Oldenburg, Steven Parrino, Giuseppe Penone, Kirsten Pieroth, Ry Rocklen, Nancy Rubins, Arcangelo Sassolino, David Smith, Rudolf Stingel, Robert Therrien, Mungo Thomson, Tatiana Trouvé, Cy Twombly, and Rachel Whiteread.
Prototypology esplora e svela la fase di ricerca e sviluppo nel lavoro di trenta artisti contemporanei, affermati ed emergenti, raccontando, attraverso il disegno, l’archivio, la maquette e il bricolage l’evolversi dell’opera dall’idea alla realizzazione finale.
Lo studio è una zona “di confine” dove trarre ispirazione, trasformare e sperimentare. Lo sketch, che prende origine dalla parola italiana “schizzare”, rappresenta l’impulso iniziale dalla mente alla mano, il processo di sviluppo dal quale la forma inizia ad emergere. L’artista, nel suo studio-laboratorio, usa spesso istintivamente il bricolage per la costruzione dei prototipi.
La mostra include nuovi lavori e materiale d’archivio di artisti quali Michael Heizer, Takashi Murakami, Albert Oehlen, e Robert Therrien, solo per citarne alcuni. Dan Graham, Claes Oldenburg, Tatiana Trouvé, e Rachel Whiteread sono presenti con studi di scultura che rivelano istanti del processo creativo altrimenti nascosti. Gesti monumentali, quotidiani, e mistici sono visibili nella selezione di schizzi preparatori e progetti.
La diversità di queste forme suggerisce importanti momenti di trasformazione: l’avventura della sperimentazione che caratterizza la migliore ricerca artistica.
Gli artisti includono Vladimir Arkhipov, Richard Artschwager, Nina Beier, Will Boone, Mike Bouchet, Chris Burden, Jason Dodge, Aleksandra Domanović, Dan Graham, Loris Gréaud, Michael Heizer, Carsten Höller, Thomas Houseago, Allan McCollum, Takashi Murakami, Albert Oehlen, Claes Oldenburg, Steven Parrino, Giuseppe Penone, Kirsten Pieroth, Ry Rocklen, Nancy Rubins, Arcangelo Sassolino, David Smith, Rudolf Stingel, Robert Therrien, Mungo Thomson, Tatiana Trouvé, Cy Twombly, e Rachel Whiteread.
Now available
Gagosian Quarterly Winter 2020
The Winter 2020 issue of Gagosian Quarterly is now available, featuring Jenny Saville’s Prism (2020) on its cover.
Murakami on Ceramics
Takashi Murakami writes about his commitment to the work of Japanese ceramic artists associated with the seikatsu kōgei, or lifestyle crafts, movement.
In Conversation
Takashi Murakami and Hans Ulrich Obrist
Hans Ulrich Obrist interviews the artist on the occasion of his 2012 exhibition Takashi Murakami: Flowers & Skulls at Gagosian, Hong Kong.
In Conversation
Tom Eccles and Kiki Smith on Rachel Whiteread
On the occasion of Artist Spotlight: Rachel Whiteread, curator Tom Eccles and artist Kiki Smith speak about the work of Rachel Whiteread through the lens of their personal friendships with her. They discuss her public projects from the early 1990s to the present, the relationship between drawing and sculpture in her practice, and the way her works reveal the memories embedded in familiar everyday objects.
In Conversation
Rachel Whiteread and Ann Gallagher
Rachel Whiteread speaks to Ann Gallagher about a new group of resin sculptures for an upcoming exhibition at Gagosian in London. They discuss the works’ emphasis on surface texture, light, and reflection.
Artists’ Magazines
Gwen Allen recounts her discovery of cutting-edge artists’ magazines from the 1960s and 1970s and explores the roots and implications of these singular publications.
