Swiss Institute is pleased to present Allyson Vieira’s first solo exhibition in an American institution. The Plural Present was initiated by Kunsthalle Basel. It continues for a second iteration in New York.
In The Plural Present , Allyson Vieira (b. 1979) explores the
continuity between antiquity and contemporary art, calling attention to
the elasticity of time via material, process, and structure. The site
specific sculpture, The City Wall (2013), is constructed from 20
foot steel studs, screwed together into rectangular frames. This
structure leans and torques as it circumscribes the gallery, guiding
viewers through an undulating pathway that delineates space and invites
movement.
Within this configuration stands the sculpture Beauty, Mirth, and Abundance
(2013), three contrapposto female figures of carved and mortared
bricks, inspired by The Three Graces located at The Metropolitan Museum
of Art in New York (Roman, 2nd Century, CE). The debris accumulated from
the production of Beauty, Mirth, and Abundance appears in the subsequent series of sculptures, Clad I-X (Beauty, Mirth, and Abundance).
Physical labor remains palpable in these works, the form of which could
be read as the artist’s "fossilized actions.” Visually, they can evoke
the imprints of ancient steles and wall reliefs, geological sediments,
and minimal sculpture. The size of the Clads reflect an attempt
to harmonize the artist’s physical proportions with imperial and metric
construction standards. The sculptures oscillate between chaos and
order, recalling the mythological polarity between the Apollonian and
Dionysian, organized symmetry versus unwieldy nature.
The exhibition continues in the lower level gallery with a two-room
video installation. In the first room, a crisp, single channel video
shows the tower, One World Trade Center, from street to spire, under
construction, with tourists passing in the foreground. Like the
Acropolis in ancient times, Ground Zero has emerged as a contemporary
pilgrimage site upon which a succession of symbolic architecture has
risen and fallen. The second, completely dark room functions as a camera
obscura. An image slowly appears as one’s eyes adjust to the darkness.
Barely visible, the video reflects, inverted, onto the far wall. Allyson
Vieira calls upon antiquity, geology and post-minimalism in an
imbrication of references stretching the perception of time.
The Plural Present was initiated by Kunsthalle Basel. It continues for a second iteration in New York.
All photos courtesy of Swiss Institute.
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