Thomas Glassford
Sicardi Gallery
- Garland Fielder -
Thomas Glassford, Between Earth and Sky, 2008; anodized aluminum with aniline dye; 88 5/8 x 125 inches; photo by Sheva Fruitman
(foreground) Dark Eyes, 2008; mixed media; 146 x 126 x 130 inches;
(background) Between Earth and Sky, 2008
Mexico City-based Thomas Glassford’s Between Earth and Sky at Sicardi Gallery showcases the artist’s transformative abilities. Glassford mutates prosaic materials into a stark minimalist vocabulary that knowingly—and ironically—comments on the history and aesthetic of that movement. The work seems oddly familiar at first, in part because of the humble origins of the materials but also due to Glassford’s sophisticated adaptation of said materials. While not every piece in the show stands out, when the artist’s conceptual mark is apparent, the work glows with the simplicity of a good idea executed masterfully.
In his Partitura series, Glassford appropriates sections of dyed anodized aluminum to create abstracted “landscapes.” Aluminum, ubiquitous in low-rent urban architecture, is cut and repeated into various patterns. The utility of the material is usurped by simply aligning the sections into patterns. Some of the works are monochromatic; others pulsate in various pastel hues. These works are basically striped paintings that manage to hit a metaphorical note suggesting, for instance, the gentle patter of rain on a tin shed. The large scale of certain works emphasizes their presence to powerful effect, while smaller versions come dangerously close to the sample aisle at The Home Depot. Mounted such that they also have an objectlike presence, the artist avoids referencing specific minimalist artists—Donald Judd in particular—just enough that the works are able to succeed on their own playful merit without getting mired in a referential rut.
In Stela, the choice of materials is audaciously mundane: Glassford transforms sheets of Lucite and found broomsticks into a towering monolith. The broom handles share a cool analogous color scheme, most sullied with the patina of use. Lucite supports vertical stacks in horizontal partitions. Again, simplicity works to the artist’s advantage. The broomsticks are randomly organized, creating a bit of confusion that complements a carefully chosen color palette. The sculpture evokes the architecture of the barrio, while the monolithic reference in the title of the work plays nicely into an insouciant take on high modernism.
Other works included in the show similarly thumb their nose at the church of modernism but have lesser impact. In the work-on-paper I remember when I was 10, the artist appropriates stitching and zippers to create small compositions. A not-so-subtle Bruce Nauman reference aside, this series also suffers from its own static aesthetic. Here, Glassford is unable to transcend the origin of his materials because of the work’s diminutive scale and limited, somewhat arbitrary palette. However, the artist attains perversely powerful high baroque with Dark Eyes. This monumental, chandelierlike sculpture dominates the gallery, spewing ornamental tsotskis in a nod to Art Nouveau. Various baubles are complemented with sliced bone fragments and sponges. The mixing of references to the body with a kitsch aesthetic is unnerving. Dwarfed by the sculpture, the viewer almost quakes with unease at the precision Glassford employs to integrate allusions to bodily decay with cultivated bad taste. All of the work presented at Sicardi is consistent in concept and executed with care, but Dark Eyes in particular proves that Glassford truly excels when he lets his aesthetic beast out of its cage and allows it to pander to the perverted distortions of consumer culture.
Garland Fielder is an artist currently based in Houston.