14 May – 9 July, 2022
Exhibition
Matthew McCaslin
Nothing to Say and Saying It
May 14 - June 30, 2022
Opening Saturday, May 14th, 6-8pm
Spencer Brownstone Gallery is pleased to present Nothing to Say and Saying It, Matthew McCaslin's second solo exhibition with the gallery. The exhibit features three new and interconnected sculptural bodies of work by the artist.
In Nothing to Say and Saying It, three discernible sculptural elements are present. Prominently featured in the center of the gallery is a three-dimensional metallic grid reminiscent of a children's climbing jungle gym yet conspicuously lacking in color and approachability. The large grid is infested with twisting metal wires giving the formation a cage-like appearance rather than a playground apparatus. The fluidity of the wires cast a stark contrast to the rigidity of the grid, breathing life into the cold metal construct.
Other twisted wire forms hang from the ceiling, scattered throughout the space. The sculptures are weightless, floating - speeding up and slowing down. They are drawings reflective of the gestures of hands and bodies. Metal veins appear to expand and retract indiscriminately within the gallery, the viewer always within reach.
Crows punctuate the installation, like an ellipsis trailing off at the end of an open statement. Their familiar shapes pull the forms back to reality, but only momentarily.
The final element, placed outdoors in the gallery courtyard, recalls signposts without the signs. Made from gas pipe, the pieces are severely angular and flat compared to the forms inside. They are empty, lacking instruction, and signal only through their hollow form. Like the scattered "nests" and the pseudo jungle gym, their original function is nullified, leaving form, and appealing for a different kind of understanding.
Special thanks to Guido Hardt for his creative input and assistance.
Artist Bio
Matthew McCaslin was born in Bayshore, NY in 1957 and currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. He received his BFA from the Parsons School of Design, New York, NY in 1980. His work is in many international public collections including the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA; the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN; the Jewish Museum, New York, NY; the Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany; the Sprengel Museum, Hannover, Germany; the Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX; the Rubbell Collection; Le Consortium, Dijon, France; and the Museum of Modern Art, Saint Etienne, France. He has exhibited extensively in galleries and museums around the world, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York, NYKunstmuseum, St. Gallen, Switzerland; the MMK Museum fur Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt, Germany; the Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, CA, Galería Javier López, Madrid, Spain; Socrates Sculpture Park, New York, NY; Sandra Gering Gallery, New York, NY; and Spencer Brownstone Gallery, New York, NY.