Enrico David: Gradations of Slow Release, an exhibition featuring twenty years of Italian-born and London-based artist Enrico David’s paintings and sculptures, will be on display at Hirshhorn Museum through September 2.
The subtitle “Gradations of Slow Release” comes from one of the sculptures of the same name included in the exhibit, which opened on April 16.
“The work, much like the show, represents the way imagery, ideas, and characterizations of being can morph and evolve over time, slowly through the maelstrom of change. Situated within the curved gallery spaces of the Hirshhorn’s Second Level inner-circle, David’s works reveal the many themes coursing through his expansive practice, including notions of interiority, multiplicity, and disembodiment,” according to the exhibit brief.
“More than that, they reflect the circular process inherent to his craft, where the human form is shaped and reshaped and continuously made anew,” the brief adds.
David is recognized as one of the most original artists of the present day. Based in London, his work spans over a variety of media, including sculpture, painting, installation, and paper “to develop a dynamic and unique vision of the human form and the ever-shifting sense of being that rests therein.”
“Often fragile, vulnerable, grotesque, and mutable, David’s imagery achieves a universal expression of the human experience, albeit through a deeply personal formulation,” the exhibit brief says.
David’s work has been shown in several exhibitions across the world such as Fault Work, Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah, UAE (2016); Autoparent, Lismore Castle Arts, Ireland (2016); The Hepworth Wakefield, the U.K. (2015); Maramotti Collection, Reggio Emilia (2015); Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2013); Head Gas, New Museum, New York (2011); Repertorio Ornamentale, Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa, Venice (2011); How Do You Love Dzzzzt by Mammy?, Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Basel (2009); Bulbous Marauder, Seattle Art Museum (2008); and Ultra Paste, ICA London (2007).
In 2013, David’s artworks were presented as part of The Encyclopedic Palace, curated by Massimiliano Gioni for the Venice Biennale.
The current exhibition is organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (MCA Chicago) and curated by Michael Darling, the James W. Alsdorf Chief Curator at MCA Chicago. It is the largest U.S. museum survey of the artist’s work to date.
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