Prototypology, An Index of Process and Mutation    

Prototypology esplora e svela la fase di ricerca e sviluppo nel lavoro di trenta artisti contemporanei, affermati ed emergenti, raccontando, attraverso il disegno, l’archivio, la maquette e il bricolage l’evolversi dell’opera dall’idea alla realizzazione finale.

Lo studio è una zona “di confine” dove trarre ispirazione, trasformare e sperimentare. Lo sketch, che prende origine dalla parola italiana “schizzare”, rappresenta l’impulso iniziale dalla mente alla mano, il processo di sviluppo dal quale la forma inizia ad emergere. L’artista, nel suo studio-laboratorio, usa spesso istintivamente il bricolage per la costruzione dei prototipi.

La mostra include nuovi lavori e materiale d’archivio di artisti quali Michael Heizer, Takashi Murakami, Albert Oehlen e Robert Therrien, solo per citarne alcuni. Dan Graham, Claes Oldenburg, Tatiana Trouvé e Rachel Whiteread sono presenti con studi di scultura che rivelano istanti del processo creativo altrimenti nascosti. Gesti monumentali, quotidiani e mistici sono visibili nella selezione di schizzi preparatori e progetti.

La diversità di queste forme suggerisce importanti momenti di trasformazione: l’avventura della sperimentazione che caratterizza la migliore ricerca artistica.

Artisti: Vladimir Arkhipov, Richard Artschwager, Nina Beier, Will Boone, Mike Bouchet, Chris Burden, Jason Dodge, Aleksandra Domanović, Dan Graham, Loris Gréaud, Michael Heizer, Carsten Höller, Thomas Houseago, Allan McCollum, Takashi Murakami, Albert Oehlen, Claes Oldenburg, Steven Parrino, Giuseppe Penone, Kirsten Pieroth, Ry Rocklen, Nancy Rubins, Arcangelo Sassolino, David Smith, Rudolf Stingel, Robert Therrien, Mungo Thomson, Tatiana Trouvé, Cy Twombly, Rachel Whiteread.

JANUARY 14 – MARCH 5, 2016

Gagosian Gallery (Via Francesco Crispi 16, 00187 Rome)

*Immagine della gallery: Rudolf Stingel, Untitled (Instructions), 1990, photograph, 59 1/16 × 78 3/4 inches (150 × 200 cm)

Prototypology, An Index of Process and Mutation

“Prototypology” explores research and development in the work of thirty contemporary artists, tracing the evolution from idea to finished artwork through drawings, archives, maquettes, and bricolage. In doing so the exhibition establishes a typology of diverse drafts.

The studio is a liminal zone for sourcing, modifying, and testing. Derived from the Italian word schizzare (splash), a “sketch” represents the initial impulse from mind to hand, the developmental process whereby form begins to emerge. In the laboratory of the studio, bricolage is often used as an instinctual method in the construction of prototypes.

The exhibition includes new works and archival material from Michael Heizer, Takashi Murakami, Albert Oehlen, and Robert Therrien, among other artists. Studies for sculptures by Dan Graham, Claes Oldenburg, Tatiana Trouvé, and Rachel Whiteread reveal moments of process that lead to epiphanies. Monumental, civic, everyday, and otherworldly gestures are visible in a range of preparatory drawings and proposals.

These varied forms represent important moments of mutation via trial and error—in essence, the risk of experimentation that typifies the artist’s quest. Through sketches both graphic and sculptural, the process behind each artist’s production finds form.

Artists: Vladimir Arkhipov, Richard Artschwager, Nina Beier, Will Boone, Mike Bouchet, Chris Burden, Jason Dodge, Aleksandra Domanović, Dan Graham, Loris Gréaud, Michael Heizer, Carsten Höller, Thomas Houseago, Allan McCollum, Takashi Murakami, Albert Oehlen, Claes Oldenburg, Steven Parrino, Giuseppe Penone, Kirsten Pieroth, Ry Rocklen, Nancy Rubins, Arcangelo Sassolino, David Smith, Rudolf Stingel, Robert Therrien, Mungo Thomson, Tatiana Trouvé, Cy Twombly, Rachel Whiteread.

JANUARY 14 – MARCH 5, 2016

Gagosian Gallery (Via Francesco Crispi 16, 00187 Rome)

*Image in the gallery: Rudolf Stingel, Untitled (Instructions), 1990, photograph, 59 1/16 × 78 3/4 inches (150 × 200 cm)