The Bloomberg Commission: Josiah McElheny: The Past Was A Mirage I Had Left Far Behind
7 September 2011-20 July 2012
Gallery 2
American sculptor Josiah McElheny (b.1966) transforms the Gallery into a kaleidoscopic hall of mirrors. Seven large-scale mirrored sculptures are arranged as multiple reflective screens on which he projects reconfigured abstract films.
McElheny is inspired by the history of Gallery 2, once a library reading room. Founded in 1896 to bring enlightenment values to impoverished Londoners, it became a crucible for the founding of British Modernism in the 1900s by émigré artists and intellectuals. McElheny gives a 21st century expression to this historic movement, plunging the viewer into a light-filled kinetic zone of geometric forms, biomorphic shapes and radiant colours.
The current selection of films for McElheny’s reconfigurations is made by design historian Lesley Jackson. Jackson’s research and writing explores design through its intersection with art, science, craft and abstraction; this crossover between disciplines is central to the production and history of abstract cinema and is a key area of enquiry in Josiah McElheny’s wider practice.
This commission, generously supported by the pioneering arts sponsor Bloomberg, is accompanied by a fully illustrated book that tracks the genesis of the project and its complex historical referents.
Admission free
Supported by:
The Bloomberg Commission invites an international artist to create an annual site-specific artwork inspired by the rich history of the former library. Bloomberg’s support reflects its commitment to innovation, and its ongoing efforts to expand access to art, science and the humanities. Additional support provided by the Wingate Scholarships. With thanks to the White Cube.
Images: The Bloomberg Commission: Josiah McElheny: The Past Was A Mirage I Had Left Far Behind. Photographs by Todd-White Art Photography
