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Volume 19 of STWT and I am back in New York! I went to my usual Chelsea galleries, and there is so much good art on view right now. In honor of his passing earlier this year, let's celebrate Richard Serra and his current work on view.
Presented by David Zwirner, Every Which Way is a show you have to be there to feel it's impact. Many of you probably know Serra or at least his work but if you aren't familiar with him, he made the most monumental pieces of our time. They are massive, intimidating, spiritual, and raw. He was known for creating enormously large scale steel structures that spatially had a magnitude you couldn't escape. His material choices became his signatures along with an unnerving sense you feel meandering around the work.
From Bilbao to Beacon, there are his infamous large-scale site-specific instillations of curled weatherproof steel. On first thought when you walk into the space you might assume to see these curled shapes once again. But for this particular show, as he noted, they are the most architecturally referenced of his works. Standing upright at sixteen slabs total is a staggered arrangement of vertical weathering steel panels. Over varying heights ranging between seven, nine, and eleven feet tall they are positioned diagonally in the gallery. Essentially when you walk into the space, you walk into the middle of the work. As with most Serra's, part of the magic is the way you wind and weave through the structure. So while usually there is an obvious directional path to follow, this time you can quite literally find yourself walking every which way around the work.
When discussing Serra's art it is not so much about the individual show but rather a totality of his body of work. There are general themes around space and movement that date back to the 80s and his controversial Titled Arc. No longer on view nor will it ever, this was the start that revolutionized Serra and his point of view. He constructed towering winding walls through Foley Square that people hated so much the public debate led to it's removal. While the years of court battles didn't keep the work up, his notion of creating site specific work that redefines a space prevailed. In part the structures existed as art on their own but came to life once the viewer was able to make their way through the piece. Creating a multitude of senses from vertigo and claustrophobia, to catharsis and clarity, seeing a Serra is almost like riding a rollercoaster.
Something I personally am drawn to with Serra is this unwavering style. I like to think of this almost how a designer has their own aesthetic. And yet some differ in that each collection there is a new inspiration, a new color palette, a new look, with Serra there is not a total newness to be found. It is more a continuation building upon his previous ideas, beliefs, and curiosities. If I can be so bold to make a parallel to Serra, I too feel that with Rosin Studios we continue in a building block manner. Each collection adding to this wardrobe of like design.
It has definitely gotten colder in NYC now, but not to worry because layering is maybe the most fashionable way to dress. I started with the Pisco Top, our classic cotton slub jersey long sleeve crew neck shirt. I paired over it the Palermo Top which is a faux leather strapped, cotton viscose tank featuring a lengthened front and back 'train'. Cut in the same fabric is our Panjin Short, almost like a cute pair of boxers. And to wrap myself up, I wore the Perth Jacket, an oversized boxy men's inspired military jacket in a heavy cotton twill. The pockets on this are my favorite, inside pockets on either side and dual entry patch pockets with an open side and a snap closure top.
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