June 27, 2013 – Sean Kelly presents a group exhibition, entitled On Nature, which brings together works with conceptually-based approaches to our perception of nature. Whilst disparate in their presentation, practice and media, the artists in On Nature share an abiding interest in employing nature to articulate narratives and metaphors. Throughout the exhibition, the presence of human beings within nature is present, in direct or veiled references.

The exhibition includes new works in addition to seminal historic works, such as Joseph Beuys’s Capri Batterie (1985). The sculpture, one of the artist’s last works before his death, comprises a yellow light bulb that appears to be powered by a fresh lemon, creating a wry commentary on our use of nature as a fuel source. Man’s direct interaction with the immediate landscape is evident in Richard Long’s Leuk Stone Circle (2000), a large-scale floor sculpture of stones from the Rhone river in Switzerland, Marina Abramovic’s Places of Power, Waterfall (2013), a photograph of the artist, dressed in white with arms outstretched, standing at the base of a dramatic waterfall in Brazil, and Antony Gormley’s Man Rock (1982-1983), in which the silhouette of a figure has been incised as a continuous line into the surface of the stone. Imagining a different kind of human interaction with nature, Peter Liversidge’s Winter Drawings are delicate renderings of trees, made from cut black masking tape, which embody the quiet elegance of the least adorned season of the year. Further, the natural world as experienced through the passage of time is seen in two of the video works in the exhibition. One, Guido van der Werve’s Nummer negen, the day I didn’t turn with the world (2007), is composed of time-lapse photography, taken over a 24-hour period, of the artist at the North Pole turning in counter-rotation to the earth. The other, Anthony McCall’s Landscape for Fire (1972), depicts an early performance in which the artist created a succinct, time-based choreography of a series of lit fires across a field in the English countryside.

The artists in On Nature strive to capture the ephemeral, expansive qualities of the natural world and present it within the context of the constructed gallery environment indoors. Through their interactions, interventions and depictions, the works included in this group exhibition grapple with understanding the natural world and our place within it.

Entrance Area
OLAFUR ELIASSON
Colour Vision Kaleidoscope, 2003
wood, glass
59 x 43 3/8 x 37 3/8 inches (150 x 110 x 95 cm)
edition of 3
OE-1.3

CONSTANTIN BRANCUSI
Endless Column, c. 1926-1927
gelatin silver print
paper: 11 11/16 x 15 5/8 inches (29.7 x 39.7 cm)
framed: 24 1/2 x 28 1/2 inches (62.2 x 72.4 cm)
CBi-1
Courtesy: Bruce Silverstein Gallery, New York

REBECCA HORN
Crickets Night Watch, 2011
lava stone, brass sculpture, electronic devices, motor, steel
80 3/8 x 13 3/4 x 13 3/4 inches (204 x 35 x 35 cm)
RH-SC-2031

Front Gallery (clockwise from entrance)
JOHN BALDESSARI
This Cloud That Fire, 1974
collage and pencil on paper
framed: 22 1/2 x 31 inches (57.2 x 78.7 cm)
signed and dated in pencil, recto
JBD-6

REBECCA HORN
Oeufs d'Autruche, 1985
charcoal and colored crayon on ostrich eggs and metal
overall: 5 1/2 x 12 x 11 inches (14 x 30.5 x 27.9 cm)
RH-85

ANTHONY McCALL
Landscape for Fire, 1972
16mm color optical film with sound transferred to DVD, 7:30 minutes
edition of 15 with 3 APs
work includes a signed and numbered certificate
AMC-23

ALEC SOTH
S., Alabama, 2007
framed archival pigment print mounted to 4 ply museum board image: 32 x 40 inches (81.3 x 101.6 cm)
mounted: 35 x 43 inches (88.9 x 109.2 cm)
framed: 36 x 44 inches (91.4 x 111.8 cm)
edition of 7 with 3 APs
signed by artist on label, verso
AS-BM.53

IAN HAMILTON FINLAY
"L'IDYLLE DES CERISES," 1986-2010
lead cherry basket and stone plinth inscribed 2010 height: 15 3/4 inches (40 cm)
diameter including handles: 21 1/4 inches (54 cm) stone: 11 7/8 x 11 7/8 x 3 inches (30 x 30 x 7.5 cm)
IHF-4

RONI HORN
Becoming a Landscape (8), 1999
two framed chromogenic prints (diptych)
image: 14 5/8 x 22 inches (37.1 x 55.9 cm) each
framed: 22 1/8 x 29 3/8 inches (56.2 x 74.6 cm) each
edition of 7
RoH-2.5a,b

DARREN ALMOND
Fullmoon@Farm, 2003
chromogenic print
framed: 42 1/2 x 41 1/8 inches (108 x 104.5 cm) edition of 5
DA-3.4

RICHARD LONG
England, 1968
vintage silver print
image: 5 1/2 x 8 inches (14 x 20 cm)
framed: 14 x 16 1/4 inches (35.6 x 41.3 cm)
signed by artist, verso
RL-5

Main Gallery (clockwise from east wall on left)
JOSEPH BEUYS
Untitled (Ohne Titel), 1948
graphite on paper
paper: 3 7/8 x 6 3/4 inches
framed: 18 15/16 x 21 11/16 inches
signed with monogram and dated
JB-1

JOSEPH BEUYS
Capri Batterie,1985
wooden box, yellow bulb with support to connect to a
lemon, certificate of authenticity
box: 7 1/2 x 7 1/2 x 7 1/2 inches (19 x 19 x 19 cm)
bulb with holder: 4 1/2 x 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches (11.4 x 6.4 x 6.4 cm)
edition of 200 with 50 APs
work includes a signed and numbered certificate
JB-18

Main Gallery (south wall)
ANTONY GORMLEY
Untitled, 2007
leaf from Luzon Island, Australia
leaf: 12 1/4 x 6 1/4 inches (31.1 x 15.9 cm)
framed: 19 3/4 x 12 3/4 inches (50.2 x 32.4 cm)
signed and dated, verso
AG-99

PETER LIVERSIDGE
Winter Drawing (Summer Version), 30 vs. 31
Winter Drawing (Summer Version), 29 vs. 32, 2011
paper, black masking tape (diptych)
paper: 94 1/2 x 59 3/8 inches (240 x 150.8 cm) each
framed: 98 1/4 x 63 1/8 inches (249.6 x 160.3 cm) each
signed, titled and dated by artist, verso
PLi-48a,b

VIJA CELMINS
Untitled (Web 4), 2002
color photogravure, aquatint, drypoint
paper: 20 1/2 x 20 1/4 inches (52.1 x 51.4 cm)
framed: 22 7/8 x 26 1/2 inches (58.1 x 67.3 cm)
edition of 65
signed and dated by the artist, recto
VC-3.20
Courtesy: the artist and Gemini G.E.L. LLC, New York

RICHARD LONG
Leuk Stone Circle, 2000
Rhone riverbed stones
diameter: 181 inches (460 cm)
work is accompanied by a signed certificate of authenticity
RL-8

GAO WEIGANG
In One Breath 2, 2013
stainless steel, titanium
45 11/16 x 45 11/16 inches (116 x 116 cm)
edition of 3 with 1 AP
GWe-2.1
Courtesy: the artist and Shanghai Gallery of Art, Shanghai

Main Gallery (west wall)
MUSTAFA HULUSI
Cyprus Black Tulip 4 (M) and Blue and Gold Expander (M), 2013
acrylic and gold leaf on canvas, oil on canvas
89 x 69 x 2 3/4 inches (226 x 175 x 7 cm)
MHi-3
Courtesy: the artist and Max Wigram Gallery, London

LAURENT GRASSO
1610 (II), 2011
white neon tubes, transformer
overall dimensions: 69 3/4 x 96 3/4 inches (177.2 x 245.7 cm) work is accompanied by a signed certificate of authenticity edition of 5 with 2 APs
LG-N.11.735

Main Gallery (north wall)
IRENE KOPELMAN
Radiolarians from Scott's expedition, 2012
acrylic on canvas
86 5/8 x 74 13/16 inches (220 x 190 cm)
work is accompanied by a signed certificate of authenticity
IKo-1

MARINA ABRAMOVIC
Places of Power, Waterfall, 2013
framed fine art pigment print
image/paper: 63 x 83 7/8 inches (160 x 213 cm)
framed: 64 x 84 7/8 inches (162.6 x 215.6 cm)
edition of 7 with 2 APs
work is accompanied by a signed certificate of authenticity
MA-270

GAO WEIGANG
Heaven 4, 2013
oil on stainless steel
45 11/16 x 57 7/8 inches (116 x 147 cm)
GWe-1
Courtesy: the artist and Shanghai Gallery of Art, Shanghai

ANTONY GORMLEY
Man Rock, 1982
Portland Limestone
height: 22 inches (55.9 cm) diameter: 19 inches (48.3 cm)
AG-1429

VIJA CELMINS
Night Sky 3, 2002
color photogravure, aquatint, drypoint
paper: 19 3/4 x 23 3/4 inches (50.2 x 60.3 cm)
framed: 22 3/8 x 26 3/8 inches (56.8 x 67 cm)
edition of 65
signed and dated by the artist, recto
VC-2
Courtesy: the artist and Gemini G.E.L. LLC, New York

Main Gallery (east wall on right)
MUSTAFA HULUSI
Afyon (the panning stills), 2012
Digital file transferred to DVDs, 7 minutes 33 seconds, looped, on two monitors
MHi-4
Courtesy: the artist and Max Wigram Gallery, London

Lower Level Gallery
GUIDO VAN DER WERVE
Nummer negen, the day I didn't turn with the world, 2007
time lapse photography, 9 minutes
edition of 7 with 2 APs
GV-1
Courtesy: the artist and Luhring Augustine Gallery, New York

Director’s Office (left)
JAMES CASEBERE
Arches, 1985
silver gelatin print
image: 18 7/8 x 14 7/8 inches (47.9 x 37.8 cm)
paper: 16 x 20 inches (40.6 x 50.8 cm)
framed: 25 5/8 x 29 5/8 inches (65.1 x 75.2 cm)
edition of 7
signed, numbered and dated, verso
JC-6