All images © 2009 Robert Mangold / Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY / DACS, London
Parasol unit
Foundation for contemporary art
London
February 24 – May 8, 2009
Parasol unit is presenting a new exhibition by American artist Robert Mangold. The exhibition will concentrate on three dynamic groups of painting that Mangold executed between 1980 and 1986, entitled X, Plus and Frame Painting series. These outstanding and rarely exhibited works continue to express Mangold’s central concern in painting, namely the relationship between plane and figure and mark a pivotal point in his artistic career. The x and + series', as their titles suggest, refer to mathematical operations. Their overall shape is composed of several rectangular and square canvases of varying lengths and widths put together according to specific rules. In each case a hand drawn x or + in pencil forms the figure that moves the eyes from the center to the edges of the work. Of particular importance is Mangold’s use of vivid and intense color combination which highlights the interplay of scale and perception. The concept is taken one step further in Mangold’s Frame Paintings, in which usually four, but in a few cases three, rectangular canvases are arranged to form a frame. An irregular hand-drawn ellipse in pencil runs across the surface of the paintings touches variably the inner corners of the frame or the inner and outer edges of the rectangles. One of the most significant elements of these works is the relationship between the work and the gallery wall, which is encapsulated by the frame, but also surrounds the work, creating a three-dimensional space that resonates with the works of some of Mangold’s contemporaries, such as Dan Flavin and Sol LeWitt.
Robert Mangold (b.1937) held his first solo show in 1964 and since then he has exhibited extensively internationally. Solo exhibitions include Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York in 1971; Kunsthalle, Basel in 1977 and Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam in 1982. Mangold has exhibited as part of group exhibitions at Museum of Modern Art, New York; Grand Palais, Paris; and Kunsthaus, Zurich. His work has been exhibited at both Documenta (1972, 1977, 1982) and the Whitney Museum of American Art Biennial (1979, 1983, 1985), and at the Venice Biennale in 1993. His work is held in collections worldwide including Tate, London; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; and Centre Pompidou, Paris. This is his first solo exhibition in a British institution.
This exhibition will be accompanied by a new publication on the artist's work, co-published by Parasol unit and Koenig Books, London.
