2col felix

Felix Gonzalez-Torres (Cuba, 1957–1996), Untitled (Alice B. Tokias’ and Gertrude Stein’s Grave, Paris), 1992, framed C-print, 29¼ by 36¼ inches, image size 153/5 by 35 by 23¼ inches, edition of 4, 1 AP. —Peter Muscato photo, ©The Felix Gonzalez-Torres Foundation, courtesy of Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York

Photo sent downstairs 2b scanned 7-24

 

3/5, not ¾,  is was submitted.

FOR 8/8 ‘IMPLANT’ SHOWS 45 ARTISTS AT UBS ART GALLERY W/1 CUT

AVV/cd #746849

NEW YORK CITY — A new exhibition at The UBS Art Gallery investigates the intimate bond between artists and plants through the perspective of contemporary art. On view through October 31 and organized by The Horticultural Society of New York, “Implant” will present the work of 45 artists, including Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Pipilotti Rist, Peter Coffin and Tacita Dean. Ranging from botanically accurate sculptures and paintings to abstract gestures inspired by flora to conceptual works suggesting artist/plant collaborations, each work is furthered by the artist’s personal connection with plants.

Curated by Jodie Vicenta Jacobson of The Horticultural Society of New York, “Implant” features works in a wide variety of media, including photography, painting, works on paper, sculpture, video, film and sound, dating from 1865 to 2008. Influenced by horticultural writer Michael Pollan’s book, The Botany of Desire, Jacobson’s exhibition concept exposes the plant’s power to infiltrate the artist’s psyche, eventually immortalizing itself as a work of art.

One highlight of the exhibition is a work by Felix Gonzalez-Torres (Cuban, 1957–1996) that employs flowering plants to symbolize identity, sexuality and mortality. This complex set of associations is at work in Gonzalez-Torres’ photograph Untitled (Alice B. Toklas and Gertrude Stein’s Grave, Paris). Without a point of reference, the composition of flowers and plants can be interpreted simply as a beautiful picture or a conceptual gesture, as a celebration or a memorial.

A pair of photographs by Pipilotti Rist (Swiss, b 1962), “Unfrisiert mit Schneeblumen,” is dreamlike, depicting a silhouette of a woman’s hair and a detail of magnolia flowers, offering ephemeral connections between the forms.

Tacita Dean’s (British, b 1965) film stills of African baobab trees address obsolescence and its relationship to nature, while representational paintings by Jane Freilicher (American, b 1924) and Ann Craven (American) demonstrate the hauntingly seductive quality of flowers and the landscape. Robert Gover (American, b 1954) takes the theme of seduction a step further by literally costuming a tree in a dress in an untitled graphite drawing.

The UBS Art Gallery is in the UBS Building at 1285 Avenue of the Americas (between 51st and 52nd Streets). For recorded exhibition information, 212-713-2885.