Posts By max mulhern

Richard Serra’s supertankers in London

Post by Max Mulhern Richard Serra at Gagosian in London, installation detail The verb is one of the most powerful tools in a sculptor’s toolbox. Richard Serra once made a list of the verbs describing his actions when sculpting.“To Lift” was one such verb. Once he lifted the edge of a rectangular rubber mat and in one action created volume and contour (and a sculpture). To Roll, To Bend, To Curve and To Cut are other verbs that pop to mind as well although, surprisingly, To Construct doesn’t. To Pose (Juxtapose) and To Balance take its place. Richard Serra, installation ... More » »

After Rothko and Rene, bring home the Bacon

Post by Max Mulhern The 1959 signature work by Mark Rothko in a small space. Yesterday, in London, I visited the Rothko show of late works at the Tate Modern and a Coptic icon show in a gallery called Sacred Space. At first glance the Rothko show appears to be a disaster. The first room shows us a signature work from 1959. But it is hung in a tiny space so instead of walking into it we slide along it. Next we enter a vast space filled with thirteen canvases six of which were originally destined for The Four Season’s ... More » »

Searching for meaning in Westfield

Post by Max Mulhern I am not a shopper so PLEASE stop me if you have heard this one before. Early one Sunday morning I left Manhattan in a bus full of people to visit the Storm King Sculpture Garden. Although the crowd didn’t really have the art lover’s feel to it everyone was cheery, bright and animated despite the weather. Most were consulting some kind of promotional literature. Had I missed the Storm King information booth? The windows of the bus fogged up quickly and vigorous wiping only opened up greyer vistas. After over an hour of blind travel we ... More » »

No man is an island that can paddle in the Thames

A report from the Albert Bridge in which Max Mulhern, our intrepid explorer of all things watery, turns in a salty dog story about Antti Laitenen‘s recent performance, Voyage, on Nov. 1. We met Laitinen at Scope in 2007 and were smitten by his performance-based works, so when we got word of this new piece, we asked Max to go check it out. Post by Max Mulhern Antti Laitinen on his own special island in the Thames — illuminated by a nearby boat. Photo by Max Mulhern. Down by the muddy banks of the Thames, in weather only life boats ... More » »

Report from London: The Gold Standard, Kate Moss…and more

Post by Max Mulhern Marc Quinn, Siren, gold, from Statuephilia at the British Museum. Photo by Max Mulhern. Mark Quinn’s 52 kilogram solid gold statue of super model Kate Moss “Siren” went on display at the British Museum last week in an exhibition entitled « Statuephilia ». “Statuephilia” consist of one work per featured figurative artist:  Antony Gormley, Damien Hirst, Ron Mueck, Marc Quinn and Noble & Webster (3 of the 5 artists are represented by the White Cube Gallery in London). The works are scattered among the pieces of the permanent collection and highlight the way we sculpt ourselves ... More » »

How much does arts funding matter?

Max Mulhern, whom I told you about here, wrote an interesting response to some of the comments on that piece. The comments focused on one thing mentioned in a much longer article– funding for artists. But an inflammatory topic will out, and one of the commenters wanted to know “What does Max Mulhern believe?” (about whether trust funded artists are the only ones who can afford to make art these days). Here’s his response: Post by Max Mulhern Dear Roberta,> I didn’t want to make a half baked reply on the blog concerning the question about trust fund artists. I ... More » »

Pedestal games and floating sculpture: Max Mulhern pays a visit

Pedestals by Max Mulhern Libby and I had coffee with Max Mulhern the other day. Max, a Philly-born artist living in London (and prior to that Paris for many years), was in the area to buy a boat, a sailboat that he and his family will sail up and down the Eastern seabord this summer. More on that in a minute. Max is an energetic sort who’s very knowledgeable about art and loves to talk about it. (He’s a friend of Paris-based ex-pat artist Matthew Rose whom I met in 2006 when Steve, Stella, Max and I were in Paris ... More » »