Fred Sandback: Vertical Constructions, published on the occasion of the Sandback show at David Zwirner in Fall 2016, takes its lead from a historic 1987 exhibition of Sandback’s wor k in Münster, also called Vertical Constructions . With a mixture of rescanned archival imagery that shows the work in situ in Münster, and new photography of these lyrical works installed the Zwirner gallery, this new catalogue is both a historical documen t and the next step in this body of work, almost exactly three decades after its first presentation. Not only was this a crucial period for Sandback, in which he experimented with the interaction between larger spaces and multiple vertical works, but the s how itself was very influential, setting the stage for some of the permanent installations to come. A new essay by renowned art historian Yve - Alain Bois picks up where Bois left off in his 2006 essay for Hatje Cantz, a decade later. Here Bois looks at hi s influential argument about the power of Sandback’s immateriality ― its ability to linger in our memories of the work ― in the context of the vertical constructions. Lisa LeFeuvre, a longtime scholar of Sandback’s work, offers a more historical treatment of t he show in the context of Sandback’s writings and other works from the 1980s. Finally, a reprint of Marianne Stockebrandt’s original essay for original Münster installation of the show reveals the dialogues around Sandback’s work at the time and helps us r econstruct the way the influence of his vertical works has continued to grow in the thirty years since.
Fred Sandback (1943–2003) was an American artist known for sculptures that outlined planes and volumes in space. Though he employed metal wire and elastic cord early in his career, the artist soon dispensed with mass and weight by using acrylic yarn to create works that address their physical surroundings, the “pedestrian space,” as Sandback called it, of everyday life. By stretching lengths of yarn horizontally, vertically, or diagonally at different scales and in varied configurations, the artist developed a singular body of work that elaborated on the phenomenological experience of space and volume with unwavering consistency and ingenuity.
Yve-Alain Bois is a professor of art history at the School of Historical Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. Bois has written widely on modern and contemporary art, and his 2005 essay on Sandback’s work has remained one of the most influential pieces of scholarship on the artist to date.
Lisa Le Feuvre is head of sculpture studies at the Henry Moore Foundation. Le Feuvre has taught at numerous academic organizations, including Chelsea College of Art, Goldsmiths, Royal College of Art, Sotheby’s Institute of Art, San Francisco Art Institute, and Städelschule, among many others.
David Gray is an editor and art historian. He is presently a board member at the Fred Sandbank Archive; project director, Robert Ryman Catalogue Raisonné; and executive director, The Greenwich Collection, Ltd., a nonprofit foundation. He has contributed to catalogues raisonnés for John Cage, Dan Flavin, and Felix Gonzalez-Torres.
Fred Sandback (1943&;2003) was an American artist known for sculptures that outlined planes and volumes in space. Though he employed metal wire and elastic cord early in his career, the artist soon dispensed with mass and weight by using acrylic yarn to create works that address their physical surroundings, the &;pedestrian space,&; as Sandback called it, of everyday life. By stretching lengths of yarn horizontally, vertically, or diagonally at different scales and in varied configurations, the artist developed a singular body of work that elaborated on the phenomenological experience of space and volume with unwavering consistency and ingenuity.
Yve-Alain Bois is a professor of art history at the School of Historical Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. Bois has written widely on modern and contemporary art, and his 2005 essay on Sandback&;s work has remained one of the most influential pieces of scholarship on the artist to date.
David Gray is an editor and art historian. He is presently a board member at the Fred Sandbank Archive; project director, Robert Ryman Catalogue Raisonné; and executive director, The Greenwich Collection, Ltd., a nonprofit foundation. He has contributed to catalogues raisonnés for John Cage, Dan Flavin, and Felix Gonzalez-Torres.
Lisa Le Feuvre is head of sculpture studies at the Henry Moore Foundation. Le Feuvre has taught at numerous academic organizations, including Chelsea College of Art, Goldsmiths, Royal College of Art, Sotheby&;s Institute of Art, San Francisco Art Institute, and Städelschule, among many others.
