Installation view, Experimenting with Materiality: Terry Adkins, Sonia Gomes, Senga Nengudi, Carol Rama, Lévy Gorvy with Rumbler, Zürich, 2019. Photo: Hannes Heinzer
Installation view, Experimenting with Materiality: Terry Adkins, Sonia Gomes, Senga Nengudi, Carol Rama, Lévy Gorvy with Rumbler, Zürich, 2019. Photo: Hannes Heinzer
Installation view, Experimenting with Materiality: Terry Adkins, Sonia Gomes, Senga Nengudi, Carol Rama, Lévy Gorvy with Rumbler, Zürich, 2019. Photo: Hannes Heinzer
Installation view, Experimenting with Materiality: Terry Adkins, Sonia Gomes, Senga Nengudi, Carol Rama, Lévy Gorvy with Rumbler, Zürich, 2019. Photo: Hannes Heinzer

Experimenting with Materiality: Terry Adkins, Sonia Gomes, Senga Nengudi, Carol RamaExhibitions

Zürich

June 8 - September 27, 2019

Opening Reception:

Friday, June 7, 6–9PM

Experimenting with Materiality: Terry Adkins, Sonia Gomes, Senga Nengudi, Carol Rama

Terry Adkins once described his method of repurposing found materials as “potential disclosure,” a process in which the strategic arrangement of objects revealed latent historical or metaphorical associations. For its first exhibition in Zürich, Lévy Gorvy with Rumbler presents Experimenting with Materiality, a consideration of the ways that such gestures of recontextualization manifest in the multimedia work of Adkins, Sonia Gomes, Senga Nengudi, and Carol Rama—artists who, despite working in disparate contexts, found resonant approaches to materiality.

Using quotidian objects as their primary media, each of these artists cultivated a historically-charged practice examining ongoing dialogues pertaining to race, gender, and industry. Engaging parallel assemblage techniques, each artist’s work is rooted in deep spiritualism that allowed them to pursue an art that elevates the base substance of their media through its incorporation into a transcendent whole. Presenting seminal works by these artists, Experimenting with Materiality celebrates the innovation and complexity of their practices.

Sonia Gomes
Picaré from Raíz Series
2018
Fabric, seam and wood
27 5/8 x 90 1/2 x 39 3/8 inches (70 x 230 x 100 cm)
Artwork © Sonia Gomes
Courtesy of Mendes Wood DM São Paulo, Brussels, New York
Photo: Bruno Leão

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Senga Nengudi
Wet Night, Early Dawn, Scat Chant, Pilgrims Song
1996/2017
Paper, plastic, and bubble wrap
Dimensions variable, approximate overall dimensions: 75 x 24 x 6 inches (190.5 x 61 x 15.24 cm)
Artwork © Senga Nengudi

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Sonia Gomes
Untitled, from Pendentes series
2018
Stitching, bindings, different fabrics and laces
107 7/8 x 11 13/16 x 11 13/16 (274 x 30 x 30 cm)
Artwork © Sonia Gomes
Courtesy of Mendes Wood DM São Paulo, Brussels, New York

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Carol Rama
Presagi di Birnam
1994
Rubber tires and iron hook on canvas with sheet metal
53 1/8 x 23 5/8 inches (135 x 60 cm)
Artwork © Archivio Carol Rama, Torino
Photo: Elisabeth Bernstein

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Terry Adkins
Barchiel
2012
Nylon, rooster feathers, wood, and microphone stand
90 x 10 x 10 inches (228.6 x 25.4 x 25.4 cm)
Artwork © Terry Adkins
Courtesy of the Estate of Terry Adkins

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Senga Nengudi
Ceremony for Freeway Fets
1978
11 C-prints
Each photograph, vertical: 18 x 12 inches (45.7 x 30.5 cm);
Each photograph, large horizontal: 13 x 18 inches (33 x 45.7 cm);
Each photograph, small horizontal: 12 x 18 inches (30.5 x 45.7 cm);
Overall installation: variable
Artwork © Senga Nengudi
Photo: Quaku/Roderick Young

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Terry Adkins
Call
1987
Brass, iron, wood, and plaster
7 x 47 1/2 x 7 inches (18 x 121 x 18 cm)
Artwork © Terry Adkins
Courtesy of the Estate of Terry Adkins
Photo: Tom Powel Imaging

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Selected Press

Blouin Artinfo | Group show “Experimenting with Materiality” at Lévy Gorvy, Zurich

July 19, 2019

Most works in this exhibition are ineluctably abstract. Yet there is a clear biomorphism that defines …

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Artdaily | Lévy Gorvy with Rumbler open inaugural exhibition during Zurich Art Weekend

June 12, 2019

Terry Adkins once described his method of repurposing found materials as “potential disclosure,” …

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Blouin Artinfo | Experimenting With Materiality: Terry Adkins, Sonia Gomes, Senga Nengudi, Carol Rama