David Zwirner is pleased to present Sharing Space, an exhibition of works by Michael Dean (b. 1977) and Fred Sandback (1943–2003), on view at THE UPPER ROOM, a second floor viewing room at the gallery's 24 Grafton Street location in London. THE UPPER ROOM supplements the annual program at David Zwirner with intimate, curated presentations.
Michael Dean was born in Newcastle upon Tyne and graduated in 2001 from Goldsmiths College in London, where he currently resides. Dean's work explores the intricate relationship between language, meaning, and form. His sculptural works correspond to language–typically the shapes and sounds of single words taken from his own extensive writings and typographical designs. Dean recently exhibited hand-formed tongue muscles cast in concrete, a reference to verbal communication, as part of larger groupings or placed individually throughout his installations. Often incorporating a tactile dimension, his works are created in close consideration of their initial display conditions. For THE UPPER ROOM, the artist will produce new works, both freestanding and wall-based, that directly respond to the idea of sharing space.
Fred Sandback, whose estate has been represented by David Zwirner since 2004, was an American artist known for sculptures that outlined planes and volumes in space. Though he employed metal wire and elastic cord early in his career, the artist soon dispensed with mass and weight by using acrylic yarn to create works that address their physical surroundings, the "pedestrian space," as Sandback called it, of everyday life. By stretching lengths of yarn horizontally, vertically, or diagonally at different scales and in varied configurations, the artist developed a singular body of work that elaborated on the phenomenological experience of space and volume with unwavering consistency and ingenuity.
Employing various methods and materials, Dean's and Sandback's individual practices align in their fundamental concerns with the construction and transformation of space. Both artists consider the presence and participation of the viewer, who moves in and around the work for different viewing angles, activating the space. Sharing Space aims to highlight the symbiotic relationship between the artist, viewer, and artwork.
Sharing Space is the third in a series of curated shows at THE UPPER ROOM organized by Associate Director Rodolphe von Hofmannsthal. Past exhibitions include Days in Lieu (January – February 2013) and Reading the Surface (June – August 2013). Sharing Space coincides with the London gallery's first solo exhibition of works by Michael Riedel (April 5 – May 31).