Event Archives
Marginal Utility
Abigail DeVille:
Wednesday / 18 / July / 2012
Abigail DeVille's new work, "Hooverville Torqued Ellipse," references canonical sculpture, raises social issues, and considers the movement of solar bodies to produce a piece situated between subjectivity and the sublime. DeVille's use of modest materials such as recycled lumber and cardboard to suggest a distressed version of Richard Serra's iconic "Torqued Ellipse IV" presents a profound contrast to the permanence and implied heroism of the core 10 steel used by Serra. Her ellipse complicates the nature of the original by inserting social content into the closed circuit of Serra's form. Unlike Serra's sculptures, which will probably outlast the institutions in which they are currently housed, DeVille's structure will be recycled at the same recycling center in which it was fabricated, thus completing a circle. "Hooverville Torqued Ellipse" is made with recycled materials from Revolution Recovery, LLC as part of the RAIR (Recycled Artist-In-Residency). Many thanks to Billy Dufala and Lucia Thome who worked with Abigail to build this large-scale sculpture with extraordinary skill, pride, and care.