Public Art Fund and
Madison Square Park Conservancy present…
Wim Delvoye’s GOTHICAt Madison Square Park and Doris C. Freedman Plaza
June 26 – 30 September, 2003
New York, NY – This summer New York City will be the site of two of the most elegant construction zones ever when the Public Art Fund and Madison Square Park Conservancy present “GOTHIC,” a series of sculptural works by Belgian artist Wim Delvoye. This two-part exhibition, on view simultaneously at Madison Square Park and
Doris C. Freedman Plaza, will be the fourth time that the Public Art Fund and Madison Square Park have worked together to present works by major artists from around the world.
In Wim Delvoye’s wide-ranging artistic practice, opposites attract: Divine merges with secular, past meets present, and ornament overcomes strict functionality. In his life-size replicas of Caterpillar excavators, Delvoye juxtaposes medieval craftsmanship with machine-age technology. These massive sculptures are made in corten steel and perforated with Gothic filigree. Caterpillar will be on view at Doris C. Freedman Plaza and at Madison Square Park a second Caterpillar sculpture will be on view as part of Chantier, a full construction site of equally elegant Gothic equipment: Shovels, a pile of sand, a wheelbarrow, barricades, traffic cones, and a concrete mixer all stand at the ready.
From Notre Dame Cathedral to St. John the Divine, Gothic architecture looms large in our cultural imagination: Its breathtaking verticality was a sign of dazzling architectural feat, achieved one stone at a time by generations of workers and artisans. These days, heavy machinery like excavators, bulldozers, and cranes can accomplish almost overnight what once took decades. But in Wim Delvoye’s sculptures, these two far-flung eras come together, and one can even find formal similarities between the reaching, angular arms of Delvoye’s earthmovers and the soaring towers of a Gothic cathedral.
There are visible references to Notre Dame in the squared-off double cab and circular rose window of Madison Square Park’s Caterpillar, but all of the sculptures in the series are actually an amalgamation of Gothic structures. Repeated arches, intricately patterned florets and undulating lines transform these familiar icons of productivity into ornate, non-utilitarian objects. The “Gothic” works grow out of an ongoing series in which Delvoye applies traditional craft and folk art practices to various industrial objects: He has hand-painted gas canisters with blue Delftware windmill motifs, enameled ironing boards with medieval coat-of-arms, and worked with Indonesian woodcarvers to make a Baroque-styled teak cement truck.
A native of Belgium, Delvoye’s interest in Gothic, Baroque and other Old World decorative styling stems from the familiar surroundings of his youth. Delvoye has called his approach to art-making “glocal,” a tongue-in-cheek term to describe art that is at once local and global in its focus. His monumental Caterpillars, rendered in corten steel—Richard Serra’s medium of choice—take that one step further, bringing together Flemish decorative artistry, global industry, and contemporary art history.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Wim Delvoye was born in 1965 in Wervik, Belgium and lives in Ghent. He has had recent solo exhibitions at the New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York; Sperone Westwater, New York; Manchester Art Gallery, England; Musée de Art Contemporain de Lyon, France; and Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris. He has participated in major international exhibitions including the 48th Venice Biennale (1999) and Documenta IX in Kassel, Germany (1992).
Madison Square Park is located between 23rd Street, 26th Street, Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue. Chantier will be on view 6am to midnight daily.
Doris C. Freedman Plaza is located at the southeast corner of Central Park, 60th Street and Fifth Avenue. Caterpillar will be on view at all hours.
ABOUT PUBLIC ART FUND
Public Art Fund is New York’s leading organizer of artists’ projects, new commissions, installations and exhibitions in public spaces. With 25 years of experience and an international reputation, the Public Art Fund identifies, coordinates and realizes a diversity of major projects by both established and emerging artists in New York City. By bringing artworks outside the traditional context of museums and galleries, the Public Art Fund provides a unique platform for an unparalleled public encounter with the art of our time.
The Public Art Fund is a non-profit arts organization supported by generous contributions from individuals, foundations, and corporations, and with public funds from The New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency, and the City of New York Department of Cultural Affairs.
ABOUT MADISON SQUARE PARK CONSERVANCY
The Madison Square Park Conservancy is dedicated to keeping Madison Square Park a bright and beautiful public park. The organization raises funds to support the lush and brilliant horticulture, park maintenance, and park security. The Madison Square Park Conservancy offers a wide array of programs in the park throughout the year. In the summer months Madison Square Kids and Madison Square Music offer entertainment to children and adults on the Oval Lawn. Madison Square Art is a yearly exhibition, which has been organized by the Public Art Fund, featuring prominent and innovative art from around the world
ABOUT DORIS C. FREEDMAN PLAZA
Named for the founder of the Public Art Fund, Doris C. Freedman Plaza has been the site of 40 artist projects and commissions, featuring works by internationally known artists such as Jenny Holzer, Tony Smith and Juan Muñoz, and emerging artists such as Keith Edmier and Andrea Zittel.
For more information please contact:
Anne Wehr
Communications Manager
Public Art Fund
Tel: 212-980-4575 / Fax: 212-980-3610
Email: awehr@publicartfund.org
For information on the
Madison Square Park Conservancy:
Marianne Vernetson
Program Coordinator
Madison Square Park Conservancy
Tel: (212) 538-5058/ Fax: (212) 325-8215
Email: mvernetson@madisonsquarepark.org
