Private View: Thursday 13 January 6 - 9 pm Exhibition: 14 January - 19 February 2011
BISCHOFF/WEISS is pleased to present Rhombus Sectus, Raphaël Zarka's first solo show at the gallery.
Raphaël Zarka's work focuses on pre-existing forms. His ongoing series entitled The Forms of Rest is a record of fragmented concrete structures discovered in rural and suburban France. Through sculpture, video and photography Zarka creates an archive of these abandoned constructions that never came to fruition, turning them into involuntary sculptures whilst creating an atmosphere of the mysterious and the unknown.
For his first solo show at BISCHOFF/WEISS, Zarka focuses his gaze on a particular geometric shape, the Rhombicuboctahedron, an Archimedean solid, composed of eighteen square and eight triangular faces, that also appears in the series The Forms of Rest.
Widely documented throughout history, Zarka's extensive research merges historical knowledge with his contemporary vision. His sculptures entitled Rhombisticks are carved from a single block of wood, as described in the 17th Century treatise, Geometry Improved by Mathematician and Astronomer, Abraham Sharp. In The Divine Proportion, published in 1509, Luca Pacioli's interest in the rhombicuboctahedron extended to its use in architecture, a recent example of which can be seen in Zarka's film Rhombus Sectus, 2009. The National library of Belarus in Minsk, a striking, 72 metre high rhombicuboctahedron, dominates the scene, towering over the surrounding city. The illuminated walls conceal what lies within, an impressive exterior transforming this everyday public building into an enigmatic monument.
Raphaël Zarka, born in Montpellier, France in 1977 lives and works in Paris. In 2008 he was awarded the Ricard Foundation prize for contemporary art. He is currently undertaking a residency at the Villa Medici, Rome.
Forthcoming screenings include; Raphaël Zarka, TATE Modern, London, England (2011), Vidéo et Aprés, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France (2011) Gibellina Vecchia, International Film Festival in Rotterdam (2011). Forthcoming solo exhibitions include; Gibellina, CAN, Neuchâtel, Switzerland (2011), Principles of Roman Knowledge, Pastificio de Cerere, Rome, Italy (2011), Raphaël Zarka, Stroom, Den Haag, Netherlands (2011). Previous solo exhibitions include; PERGOLA, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France (2010), Geometry Improved, Modern Art Oxford, Oxford, England (2009), Documetary Sculptures, Motive Gallery, Amsterdam (2009), Ratiocination, Galerie Michel Rein, Paris, France (2008), Padova, La Vitrine, Paris, France (2008). Previous group exhibitions include: Seconde main, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, France (2010), Spatial City: An Architecture of Idealism, Institute of Visual Arts (Inova), Milwaukee, USA, Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCAD), Detroit, USA (2010), Diamonds on the soles of her shoes, BISCHOFF/WEISS, London, England (2010), La Planète des Signes, Le Plateau, Paris (2009), Les Archipels Réinventées, Centre Pompidou, Paris (2008).
For further information, please contact:
BISCHOFF/WEISS 14a Hay Hill London W1J 8NZ Tel: 020 7629 5954 Email: info@bischoffweiss.com Open Tuesday to Saturday 10am - 6pm.
