Knoedler & Company

We are proud to announce the second exhibition
in Knoedler’s new Project Space.

David Henderson’s recent sculpture addresses formal mathematical issues (in this body of work, the geometry of the curve) while also exploring a childhood fantasy about space travel. When Henderson was a boy, an eccentric uncle gave him a science-fiction book about building space ships and exploring the galaxies, a theme which continues to inform his ultra-elegant sculpture. The New Yorker referred to earlier work as “... space age Brancusis” (2000).

The fiberglass sculptures are primarily wall-mounted, often affixed by their delicate tails while their sometimes pendulous tops arc up, out and over, looking poised to bound off the wall and head into the universe on an adventure all their own. They use the wall, they don’t just hang on it.

The titles of some of the pieces in this exhibition — Colossus, Dreadnought, Bellerophon — are taken from the names of 19th Century French and English frigates. Henderson’s interest in sea-faring ships has also been with him since boyhood; the first thing he ever built was a full-size sailboat, which he sailed for years.

The subtle variations of the edges, the finish, and the material of the sculpture calls to mind Wabi-Sabi, the Japanese aesthetic philosophy representing the beauty, or perfection, of imperfection. Henderson calls it “surface richness.” This is a conscious foil to the geometry — the physicality of the objects can never compete with the perfection of a curve. In a similar vein, the installation of the exhibition will be consciously spare and minimal.

Henderson has worked in New York since the early ‘80s. He has a BA from Bard College and an MFA from Columbia University. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Kate Teale, a painter.

Colossus and Other Men o’ War opens to the public on Thursday, April 17, 2008 and will remain on view through Friday, May 30th, 2008. The opening reception will be held on April 17th from 6 to 8 pm. The exhibition will be accompanied by a limited-edition chapbook, available to the public at no charge.

For additional information, please contact Marella Consolini, Curator of the program at consolini@knoedlergallery.com

For more information about the artist: davidhenderson.org

February 7 through March 29, 2008

We are proud to announce the first exhibition in the gallery’s newest initiative: the Knoedler Project Space.

Please click here to view video documentation of Migration.

Migration is an interactive installation of kinetic sculptures by Heather Cox. Over thirty life size silhouettes of the artist’s figure hang horizontally from the ceiling. A small red wood egg is suspended by monofilament from the chest of each figure. The red eggs hang at approximately waist height of the viewer. When the viewer pulls gently on the strings, the balanced figures “take flight.” The arms and bodies of the figures are carefully linked to create a slow, majestic flying motion. When the figures “fly”, the room becomes a meditation on air, breath, and movement.

For many years, Heather Cox’s art has involved precisely crafted objects centered on repetition and shifting scale. She uses a variety of materials in her projects to address issues of visibility, discovery and metamorphosis. Her work always invites a closer look. The viewer’s physical approach is often accompanied by curiosity, confusion and moments of recognition. Cox’s work acts as a catalyst for these momentary thresholds.

Cox has worked in New York City for the past ten years. She has shown her work nationally and internationally. Cox received her early training in book arts and photography at Mills College and received her MFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1998. She was a participant at the Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture in 1997, and is a recipient of the Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant, 1998.

Migration opens to the public on Thursday, February 7, 2008 and will remain on view through Saturday, March 29th, 2008. The opening reception will be held on February 7th from 6 to 8 pm. The exhibition will be accompanied by a limited-edition chapbook with text and drawings by the artist. They will be available to the public at no charge.

For additional information, please contact Marella Consolini, Curator of the program at consolini@knoedlergallery.com