ART CITIES:London-Richard Tuttle

One of the most significant artists working today, Richard Tuttle first came to prominence in the heady years of the ‘60s, when he gained critical recognition for a body of work that used materials such as textile, paper, wire, and rope, materials that have remained the cornerstone of his practice.

By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Pace Gallery Archive

Richard Tuttle subverts the conventions of Modernist sculptural practice, defined by grand, heroic gestures, monumental scale, and the materials of steel, marble, and bronze, instead he creates small, eccentrically playful objects in decidedly humble, even “pathetic” materials such as paper, rope, string, cloth, wire, twigs, cardboard, bubble wrap, nails, Styrofoam, and plywood. Richard Tuttle in his solo exhibition “The Critical Edge” at Pace Gallery in London, presents a series of seven recent works assembled from layers of vibrant fabric purchased in New York and Maine. Tuttle’s refers to his work as drawing emphasizing the diminutive scale and idea-based nature of his practice. An astute collector of textiles, Tuttle builds his works from layers of fabric that are cut and sewn by hand, sometimes with the aid of a sewing machine. From these fragments he fashions idiosyncratic shapes and eccentric compositions, many endowed with a clumsy yet evocative three-dimensionality. The works vary in their degree of opacity and transparency, they catch and release light in different ways. For these reasons, Tuttle’s works are highly sensual objects that activate our senses of sight and touch. Furthermore, by alluding to philosophical inquiry, the objects’ shared title, “The Critical Edge”, suggests that the works reach beyond art to become meditations on the nature of perception and understanding. Tuttle’s seductive investigations of line, volume, colour and form are imbued with a sense of spirituality and informed by a deep intellectual curiosity. As reflected in the title of the exhibition, the works’ ambition is to transcend boundaries and invite viewers to contemplation.

Info: Pace Gallery, 6 Burlington Gardens, London, Duration: 13/4-13/5/17, Days & Hours: Tue-Sat 10:00-18:00, www.pacegallery.com