SculptureCenter
44-19 Purves Street
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Photograph taken by the artist during his crossing of the Atlantic, 1968 Invitation card, Bykert Gallery, 1969 Bill Bollinger, courtesy Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kunstbibliothek
April 22-July 30, 2012 Opening Reception: Sunday April 22, 5-7 PM
SculptureCenter is pleased to host Bill Bollinger. This exhibition, surveys the brief, yet historically significant career of Bill Bollinger (1939-1988), focusing on the period from 1966-70. SculptureCenter is the only U.S. venue for this retrospective, and the exhibition will be on view April 22- July 30, 2012 with a public reception on Sunday April 22nd 5 - 7 pm.
Bollinger made significant waves in the late 1960s, challenging the limits of sculpture and expanding thought regarding concept, materiality, and commodity. His works were made from primarily pre-fabricated industrial supplies, such as sawhorses, oil drums, rubber tubing and cyclone fence. Focusing on the gesture of construction and the physical limits of material, Bollinger's work addressed ideas of gravity, balance and material nature. According to him his interests lay not 'in the aesthetics of form but in the fact of form'. He frequently used water for as a material, transforming it into something sculptural with mass and form as it fills a plastic hose or a steel barrel. Bollinger summed up his attitude to the making of his work: 'It is all very easy to execute, does not exist until it has been executed, ceases to exist when it has been taken down.'
Bill Bollinger is curated by Christiane Meyer-Stoll in conceptual collaboration with Rolf Ricke and produced by the Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, the ZKM Zentrum fur Kunst und Medientechnologie Karlsruhe, and The Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh. The exhibition has been previously on view at each of these venues. SculptureCenter is the only venue for the exhibition in North America. Bill Bollinger is the first major presentation of Bollinger's work since 1970, and the first retrospective.
Exhibition related programs:
The Bollinger Phenomenon Tuesday May 15, 7 – 9 PM This panel brings together art historians and curators for an in-depth examination of Bill Bollinger’s life and work. With Christiane Meyer-Stoll (Curator, Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein), Bob Nickas (curator), Mitchell Algus, (curator and gallerist) and Klaus Kertess (curator and writer). Moderated by Mary Ceruti (Executive Director and Chief Curator, SculptureCenter)
SC Conversations: Unidentified Influences Wednesday June 27, 7 – 9 PM While many artists working today may not be familiar with Bollinger’s work specifically, many of the issues with which he was grappling, continue to be crucial concerns in contemporary practices. The artists participating in this conversation discuss their relationship and response to Bollinger’s work. With Rachel Foullon (b.1978 Glendale, CA), Virginia Overton (b.1971 Nashville, TN), and Kilian Rütheman (b.1979 Bütschwil, St. Gallen, Switzerland). Moderated by Ruba Katrib (Curator, SculptureCenter)
SC Evenings Saturday July 21, 5 – 8 PM An evening of musical performances and literary readings co-presented with Abe’s Penny.For additional information and images please contact Frederick Janka, press@sculpture-center.org or 718.361.1750 x 117
Directions SculptureCenter is five minutes from Midtown by subway. E or M to Court Square / 23rd Street, or G to Courthouse Square (note: the M train does not run on weekends). From all trains, walk north on Jackson Avenue one block past 44th Drive and turn right onto Purves Street. Please note: The 7 train Courthouse Square station is now open!
