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William J. O'BrienCleanse, Fold and Manipulate2007
2007
$7,786.79
£5,750
€6,738.82
CA$10,738.31
A$12,064.01
CHF 6,303.47
MX$147,246.94
NOK 80,035.61
SEK 75,336.66
DKK 50,287.57
About the Item
William J. O’Brien (b. 1975)
Cleanse, Fold and Manipulate (2007)
Oil paint, aerosol paint, wood, string, carpet, wax, and other mixed media
136 x 53 x 48 cm.
Provenance:
William J. O’Brien;
Elizabeth Dee Gallery, New York, 2008;
Permanent Collection, Saatchi Gallery;
Private Collection, United Kingdom.
Exhibition history:
Jesuvian Process, Elizabeth Dee Gallery, New York, 19 January-16 February 2008;
Shape of Things to Come: New Sculpture, Saatchi Gallery, London, 27 May-16 October 2010.
Literature:
Saatchi Gallery, Shape of Things to Come: New Sculpture (Saatchi Gallery, 2010), pp. 316-7
An idiosyncratic mass of tangled string rests precariously on a pedestal, the sinews petrified with glue and marked haphazardly throughout with vibrant aerosol paints, daubed with a dark viscous pigment still sticky to the touch. Fragments of wax candles hang from single strands of cotton wicks, triangular cuttings of thick felt are affixed with safety pins, and strips of woolen carpet flap loosely from the form. Further identifiable materials include gauze and steel nails, comprising only a part of the extensive and indeterminate mixed media used by O’Brien. Cleanse, Fold and Manipulate takes its name from the 1987 studio album of Canadian electro-industrial group Skinny Puppy, whose songs on the AIDS epidemic and the PTSD of Vietnam War veterans questioned the status quo with an incendiary punk attitude.
The work formerly belonged to the permanent collection of the Saatchi Gallery, London, and formed a central component of the Saatchi 2010 exhibition, Shape Of Things To Come: New Sculpture. It comes recently from the private collection of a leading British collector of contemporary art.
This highly distinctive work subverts the conventions of sculpture to challenge art historical archetypes and the expectations of viewership. O’Brien sends up formal curatorial modes by playfully inverting the pedestal as an enduring symbol of artistic distinction. The defaced plinth supports a deeply abstracted and materially unconventional creation, a mess of materials and forms elevated with considerable irony. The work encourages the viewer to re-examine notions of order and structure, presentation and convention, to arrive at their own understanding of artistic meaning and merit. The carefully sculpted nature of such unconventional media demonstrates the possibility for order amongst chaos, and for meaning to derive from the subjectivity of the creation process.
William J. O’Brien was born in Eastlake, Ohio, in 1975. Living and working in Chicago, he received his MFA from the Art Institute of Chicago in 2005. As a young gay man, O’Brien resolved feelings of isolation through artistic creation, a process of self-discovery which no doubt informed the unconventional perspective typical of his works. O’Brien is known for his interdisciplinary, improvisational approach, often exploring creation and expression through material experimentation. Solo exhibitions have included the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (2014). His works held in public collections include the Art Institute of Chicago, Miami Art Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art (Chicago), and the Hara Museum of Contemporary Art (Japan).
- Creator:William J. O'Brien (1975, American)
- Creation Year:2007
- Dimensions:Height: 53.55 in (136 cm)Width: 20.87 in (53 cm)Depth: 18.9 in (48 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:The work is in good and stable condition, commensurate with the atypical mediums used.
- Gallery Location:Maidenhead, GB
- Reference Number:Seller: William J. O'Brien1stDibs: LU2820215588032
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