Sol LeWitt. Ignacio Uriarte: Muro e Parete

Latin, Italian and German – and many other languages as well – have two words for ‘wall’, in contrast to English, which only has one. German, for example, differentiates between ‘Mauer’ and ‘Wand’: ‘Mauer’ is the physical, load-bearing base constructed of stone or brick or other materials. In interiors in particular it is usually covered with a layer of plaster, which provides a surface that neatly hides the physical structure of the ‘Mauer’ or wall beneath. This smooth surface or ‘Wand’ becomes a surface for the imagination, for projection, on which anything can be portrayed. It is the image surface that  artists of ancient Rome sought in decorating wealthy villas. On this surface they could bring forth image worlds that point far beyond the limits of the room indoors – to foreign architecture or magnificent paradisical scenes.
 
In this light, the Wall Drawings by Sol LeWitt are of course much more than simply over-sized drawings. Their essential element is that they should be seen within their close frame of reference to the room. In "Wall Drawing 247" the lines to and from random points specified on the wall are determined by the draftsman with black crayons. Any differences in the installation are due to differences between walls on which the piece is being drawn. The drawing now moves in its own dimension, which extends beyond real space.
 
With his artful handling of paper, Ignazio Uriarte can transform the white wall into a relief of white sheets of paper. Art possesses the privilege of not having to be productive, and it is frequently enough to enlarge a small, casual gesture or place the focus on it in order to make its aesthetic potential accessible.
Each sheet of paper contains four folds that connect to a randomly shaped rhombus that connects further to the rhombus on the pages above, below, to the left and to the right, creating thereby a new, additional layer of rhombusses in between the pages that looks almost the same, but with depression instead of protrusions.
The folds reflect the light above them and throw shadows below them. Different gradings of white and grey are created this way without the actual use of color.
 
Text by Helmut Friedel

Opening: May 26, 6:30 pm 

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