Works To Inaugurate A Space The First in a Series of Installations from the Stone Collection curation by thea westreich art advisory services
Over the past two decades, Norman and Norah Stone have formed an art collection that speaks to their individual sensibility and is internationally admired for its excellence and unique perspective. They have focused their collecting on artists who transcend cultural boundaries, undermine conventional notions of purity in painting and sculpture, and strike a balance between conceptual and perceptual qualities. Given their unique vision and unabashed daring, it is not surprising that the Stones would create a new type of exhibition space to show their art. They have taken the age-old, commonly used modality of carving out an underground area for the storage of wine and transformed it into a refined space for the exhibition of art. The 5,750-square-foot Art Cave, designed by Bade Stageberg Cox, is situated inside a mountain on the Stones Napa Valley property. It is seamlessly integrated as part of the now completed Stonescape, which also features a newly designed pool and pavilion by James Turrell; a 1990 outdoor sculpture by Cady Noland; a farmhouse, built in 1887, that is installed with exceptional works of contemporary art and outstanding examples of mid-century Scandinavian design (all from the Stones collection); a vineyard; and a majestic stand of redwood trees.
The Stones began to seriously collect in the mid-1980s and with notable prescience assembled some of the best works by artists who emerged in that decade, including Robert Gober, Mike Kelley, Martin Kippenberger, Jeff Koons, Cady Noland, Richard Prince, Cindy Sherman and Christopher Wool. Over their collecting history, they ve also acquired the works of several postwar masters, such as Joseph Beuys, Marcel Duchamp, Sigmar Polke, Dieter Roth and Andy Warhol all seminal artists whose influence is manifest throughout the collection. From the rich vein of Minimal and Conceptual art-making practice, they have collected important works by Vito Acconci, John Baldessari, Dan Flavin, Gilbert & George, Donald Judd, Bruce Nauman, Richard Serra and Robert Smithson. In the 1990s, the Stones continued to engage with new and innovative expressions, adding to their collection works by Doug Aitken, Matthew Barney, Larry Clark, Jack Pierson and Jason Rhoades. They have also added early and important works by younger artists, such as Mark Alexander, Robert Beck, Monica Bonvicini, Ann Collier, Jan De Cock, Jamie Isenstein, Scott Lyall, Robert Melee, Sean Paul, Eileen Quinlan, Simon Starling, Cheyney Thompson and Keith Tyson.
Ever individual in their interests and selections, the Stones always keep their eyes open to artists of earlier times who connect to their interests and to the artists they have collected, such as Martin Barré, Hans Bellmer, Bruce Conner and Tony Conrad. The first installation in the Art Cave, Works to Inaugurate a Space, curated by the Stones long-time art consultancy, Thea Westreich Art Advisory Services, presents interesting groupings that amplify the meaning of individual works, the intentionality of the artists and, as well, currents that run through the Stone collection. Rather than adhering to thematic, chronological or movement-based organization, the placement of the artworks in relation to each other fosters a rich dialogue between groupings that span four decades, three continents and varied aesthetics. Seen from the entrance of the cave, Monica Bonvicini s Caged tool #1 (hammer drill) is a good place to start, as much of Bonvicini s work addresses the inherent gender bias of architecture by co-opting the Minimalist aesthetic and by using materials and objects related to construction. Here, a common tool, the hammer drill, is wrapped in black leather, transformed into a fetish object, and displayed on a simple pedestal of concrete blocks, another staple of the building industry. Contrasting this
hard-edged sculpture is Rirkrit Tiravanija s rainbow-hued tulle Magazine Station n. 2, Receiving Station. Where Bonvicini s sculpture is aggressive, Tiravanija s curtains invite the viewer to share in the architectural experience, quietly demarcating the space. The volume of Caged tool #1 and the weightlessness of Tiravanija s piece are framed by the only curved wall in the cave, reminding the viewer of the cave s mode of construction, further explicating the themes and intentions of each artist s work. The cave then opens into another gallery where Vito Acconci s Adjustable Wall Bra anchors the installation and provides a conceptual frame for the works installed in the first large space that the viewer encounters. This brassiere-shaped sculpture can be configured in multiple ways and is tied to the architecture both literally and figuratively: it is attached by cables and bolts in standard fashion, but it can also be seen as being worn by the walls, a sensation heightened by the audio component the sound of breathing. Further, the bra s straps curl outward, embracing other artworks installed in the space both visually and conceptually. The four nearby works by Mike Kelley Shift, Antiqued and two photographs from the Extracurricular Activity Projective Reconstruction series key off of the playful nature of the Acconci bra, confounding the distinction between high and
low, and further exploring culture, memory and performance. Dan Flavin s the diagonal of May 25, 1963 (to Robert Rosenblum) is deceptive in its simplicity; essentially it is a readymade marked by a lack of artistic handiwork. The light s cool color powerfully plays off of the architecture, commanding the space, including the surrounding artwork almost theatrical in its own right. Finally, Christopher Wool is a bridge between the Acconci, the Flavin and the Kelleys. The joke of the title, Feet Don t Fail Me Now, a tap dancer s last thoughts before launching into crescendo, offers an amusing and informative consideration of Wool s own ambitions to explore the full potentialities of art, from the exploration of rote mechanical process to the irregularities of individual markings. The central part of the main gallery looks back to the major figures of the Minimalist and Conceptualist movements. Robert Smithson s work, including Non-Site (Mica from Portland, Connecticut, 1968), explores geologic time while it also collapses the distinction between the point from which the materials originate and the location in which they are displayed. Serra s Sculpture Black Triangle echoes the pared-down geometrical form of Smithson s sculpture, while Square Level Forged directly references the manner of its own construction: the two beams comprising this work evidence a pent-up energy
between two conflicting yet evenly matched and dependent forces. An architecturally based work, this piece demonstrates Serra s investigation of the themes of structural tension and the relationship of sculpture to architecture. Donald Judd, whose art emphasizes geometric form and seriality, also addresses this relationship, studying the ways in which the elements of sculpture, the intervening spaces and the site of installation affect the viewer s experience of the artwork, as can be seen in Untitled. If the Minimalists in this gallery are about form and volume, then Baldessari s A Painting That Is Its Own Documentation is about rules and ideas about the art object and modes of exchange. Baldessari anticipates many of the appropriation-based tactics of the 1970s and 1980s in his exploration of the (often humorous) methods of constructing the analysis of an endless array of information. A Painting That Is Its Own Documentation is a consummate example of Baldessari s economical, yet loaded, use of text as painting and it challenges the notion of the artist as the sole producer of meaning. A self-referential relation between art object and its circulation is made explicit with instructions to continue the production of the painting by adding to its list of subsequent exhibitions, locking the concept of the painting into the circular process of its own making and presentation.
The far section of the main gallery is occupied by Keith Tyson s The Block (part of Seven Wonders of the World series). Like the rest of Tyson s work, this ambitious piece (both in scale and conceptual base) is an intensely humanistic exploration of some of the philosophical conundrums and the network of associations often left unengaged in contemporary art-making practices. In The Block, Tyson continues his exploration of life phenomena and, particularly, the degree to which we are able to recognize and rationalize a relationship between any particular historical truth and the larger system of the infinite and unknowable universe. At first glance, the sculpture seems to be a simple reference to the Minimalist works in the previous galleries, but Tyson does not simply present a reductive, machine-made form. The photographic images that surround the sculpture trace The Block s history in different incarnations chance events that have brought the artist into being images re-imagined and literally illustrated in the making and re-casting of the bronze. Installed in the side gallery leading out of the main gallery are Sol LeWitt s Wall Drawing #231 The Location of a Quadrangle and Tony Conrad s Yellow Movie, 2/21 22/73. Sol LeWitt s artistic production strikes a delicate balance between perceptual and conceptual qualities in its dedication to the order of geom-
etry, as well as to the pursuit of visual beauty. The installation of Wall Drawing #231 The Location of a Quadrangle shows how the simple geometric line interrelates with (and is affected by) the format of the architectural environment of its installation. Ironically, and though not the artist s intent, the installation also brings to mind the very genesis of art: the simple drawings etched into cave walls in prehistoric times. In the early 1970s, the experimental filmmaker Tony Conrad sought to challenge the definition of film by exploring ways in which he might extend duration over years, decades or a lifetime. Yellow Movie, 2/21 22/73, from the Yellow Movie series, is illustrative of his investigation. In these works, large rectangles of household paint, outlined by a black frame, simulate the appearance of a movie screen. The paint itself acts as an emulsion of sorts, changing over time and tracing the activity of its environment. Conrad has even suggested that this type of filmmaking extends to the architectural environment: in which the paint on the walls records history on a monumental scale. Bookending these galleries and linking to the themes of film and temporality in Conrad s work are Vito Acconci s Stills for Home Movies and Bruce Conner s Eve-Ray-Forever. Like a string of subliminal images, the intense, strobe-like effect of
Eve-Ray-Forever is somehow not far removed from Acconci s black and white photographs punctuated by chalked text. Both of these works explore notions of otherness in popular culture and reference theater, film and performance while also connecting to the investigations and critiques found in Mike Kelley s practice. The works in this exhibition are but a small selection of the larger Stone collection. The Stones continue to collect today with the same dedication and individuality as they have over the last twenty years. Future installations at the Art Cave will explore new ideas and expressions emerging in contemporary art. Thea Westreich Art Advisory Services October 27, 2007
Vito Acconci Adjustable Wall Bra 1990
Vito Acconci Stills for Home Movies 1973 1975
John Baldessari A Painting That Is Its Own Documentation 1966 1968
Monica Bonvicini Caged tool #1 (hammer drill) 2004
Bruce Conner Eve-Ray-Forever 1965 / 2006
Tony Conrad Yellow Movie, 2/21 22/73 1973
Dan Flavin the diagonal of May 25, 1963 (to Robert Rosenblum) 1963
Donald Judd Untitled 1978 Art Judd Foundation. Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY
Mike Kelley Antiqued 1987
Mike Kelley Shift 1990
Mike Kelley Extracurricular Activity Projective Reconstruction #22 (Picking a Mary) 2005
Mike Kelley Extracurricular Activity Projective Reconstruction #31 (Mary Processional) 2005
Sol LeWitt Wall Drawing #231 The Location of a Quadrangle 1974
Richard Serra Sculpture Black Triangle 1973
Richard Serra Square Level Forged 1988
Robert Smithson Non-Site (Mica from Portland, Connecticut, 1968) 1968 Art Estate of Robert Smithson/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY
Rirkrit Tiravanija Magazine Station n. 2, Receiving Station 2000
Keith Tyson The Block (part of Seven Wonders of the World series) 2007
Christopher Wool Feet Don t Fail Me Now 1995
Vito Acconci, Adjustable Wall Bra, 1990 Rebar, plaster, steel cable, canvas, lights and audio 96 x 288 x 60 inches Courtesy of the Artist, Vito Acconci Vito Acconci, Stills for Home Movies, 1973 1975 Colored chalks, spray paint and photo collage on paper 35¾ x 143¾ inches Courtesy of the Artist, Vito Acconci John Baldessari, A Painting That Is Its Own Documentation, 1966 1968 Acrylic on multiple canvases Original canvas: 68 x 56X x 1 inches Four additional canvases: ca. 34¼ x 56X x 1 inches each Courtesy of John Baldessari Monica Bonvicini, Caged tool #1 (hammer drill), 2004 Cage, metal grids, black power tool covered by black leather, black leather belt, wall of bricks 94½ x 39W x 39W inches Courtesy Galleria Emi Fontana, Milan and West of Rome, Los Angeles Bruce Conner, Eve-Ray-Forever, 1965 / 2006 Three-screen silent DVD projection, transferred from 8mm film Dimensions variable Courtesy Michael Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles 2007 Bruce Conner Tony Conrad, Yellow Movie, 2/21 22/73, 1973 Emulsion: Oak low lustre floor enamel, Equity Interior-Exterior Floor Enamel #245, Peerless Paint and Varish Corp.; Base: Festival seamless paper 72 x 92V inches Copyright Tony Conrad. Image courtesy Galerie Daniel Buchholz, Koln and Greene Naftali Gallery, New York. Dan Flavin, the diagonal of May 25, 1963 (to Robert Rosenblum), 1963 Cool white fluorescent light and casing Length: 96 inches 2007 Stephen Flavin / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York Donald Judd, Untitled, 1978 Douglas fir plywood in four parts 29½ x 29½ x 29½ inches each Mike Kelley, Antiqued, 1987 Wood, glass, mirror, books 75 x 33½ x 19 inches Courtesy of the artist Mike Kelley, Shift, 1990 Blanket, stuffed animals 83 x 89 x 7 inches Courtesy of the artist Mike Kelley, Extracurricular Activity Projective Reconstruction #22 (Picking a Mary), 2005 Black and white Piezo print on rag paper and color Chromogenic print 66¾ x 40 inches Courtesy of the artist Mike Kelley, Extracurricular Activity Projective Reconstruction #31 (Mary Processional), 2005 Black and white Piezo print on rag paper and color Chromogenic print 73½ x 30 inches Courtesy of the artist Sol LeWitt, Wall Drawing #231 The Location of a Quadrangle, 1974 Black pencil description, black crayon quadrangle First drawn by: Konrad Fischer, Sol LeWitt First installation: Konrad Fischer, Düsseldorf, Germany May, 1974 2007 Estate of Sol LeWitt/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Image courtesy of PaceWildenstein, New York. Richard Serra, Sculpture Black Triangle, 1973 Crayon on cartridge paper 47Y x 213¾ inches Richard Serra Richard Serra, Square Level Forged, 1988 Forged steel in two blocks 69 x 7½ x 7½ inches each Richard Serra Robert Smithson, Non-Site (Mica from Portland, Connecticut, 1968), 1968 Wood painted black and mica 5 x 64¾ x 19 inches Rirkrit Tiravanija, Magazine Station n. 2, Receiving Station, 2000 Aluminum tubes, tulle curtains Overall: 109½ x 162½ inches Courtesy Galleria Emi Fontana, Milan and West of Rome, Los Angeles Keith Tyson, The Block (part of Seven Wonders of the World series), 2007 Bronze casting and framed photographs Block: 30½ x 30½ x 30½ inches 23 photos, each 43¼ x 31a/ fl x 1¾ inches Courtesy of Keith Tyson Projects Christopher Wool, Feet Don t Fail Me Now, 1995 Enamel on aluminum 108 x 72 inches Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York