KEITH SONNIER
On 3 May 2008 the Mary Boone Gallery will open at its Chelsea location an exhibition of sculptural light works from the 1980s by KEITH SONNIER. Sonnier is one of the first-generation Minimalists who, beginning in the 1960s, introduced to sculpture unconventional placement and industrial materials. An ongoing fascination of Sonnier’s has been the incorporation of artificial light – specifically neon, which can further be exploited for its inherent line and vibrant color.
Various series of neon sculptures from the 1980s are represented in the current exhibition. “Column I” and “Column II” (both 1981) present striking verticals of bent metal cradling tubes of neon. In “LAC Prison” (1981), “Mirror Act V” and “New Orleans Dyad 1-A” (both 1989), Sonnier rejects the condition of sculpture as freestanding and engages sheets of illuminated mirror and glass with the floor, walls, and ceiling of the room. In all of the neon works, the requisite cords and transformers are visible and intentional formal elements.
The exhibition, 541 West 24 Street, is on view through 28 June 2008. Please contact the Gallery if we can be of further assistance, or visit our website www.maryboonegallery.com.
