Fred Sandback at David Zwirner

One of the last greats of American Minimalism was on display in London earlier this month at David Zwirner. Having admired his prints for a number of years I was intrigued to see more of his sculptural and installation works.

The exhibition comprised of his signature acrylic yarn works that address their physical surroundings. By stretching lengths of yarn horizontally, vertically, or diagonally at different scales and in varied configurations, the artist developed a singular body of work that elaborated on the phenomenological experience of space and volume.

The sculptures on view ranged in date from the 1970s to the early 2000s and examined the broad range of formal invention that Sandback developed as a type of sculptural language. Among the works in the exhibition were signature pieces that outline geometric forms, such as Untitled (Sculptural Study, Two Part Standing Construction), 1978/2007, a work in black acrylic yarn that presents two vertical planar forms installed in a perpendicular formation that re-orients the architecture and surrounding space. Also on display was Untitled (Leaning Triangle), c. 1990, a large leaning triangle constructed with pink acrylic yarn, and Untitled (Triangle), 1993, a small planar and dimensional projection that integrated the corner and surrounding walls of the room. A selection of multi-part vertical constructions that extend from floor to ceiling in different configurations and colours were also included in the exhibition. 

These simple interventions  have the ability to hold your attention, acting as three-dimensional drawings they question your understanding of your immediate environment and the way in which you view the architecture of the space.

Fred Sandback  

January 10 - February 16, 2013   
David Zwirner