Alyson Shotz, “Fundamental Forces”

Stockholm, 25.8–2.10  2011

Galleri Andersson/Sandström will be inaugurating the fall season with a double exhibition by the American artist Alyson Shotz. Titled “Fundamental Forces” in Stockholm and “Ecliptic” in Umeå, Shotz will pervade the exhibition spaces with optical effects and futuristic expression. Many are familiar with her installation at the Guggenheim in 2007, “The Shape of Space”, another version of which will be shown in Umeå. In Stockholm, the exhibition will present a magnetic theme with direct physical effects.

Alyson Shotz drastically left painting behind in the end of the 90’s. Through sculpture and installation, she was finally able to cultivate her spatial aspirations. With her unique palette of materials such as glass, optical lenses, piano strings and beads, she explores the overlap between object and human perception. That Shotz previously studied geology and still has a vivid interest in science is apparent. She says: “Questions about what the universe is made of seem primary to what sculpture, should be addressing.”

Playing with spatial distortion, Shotz expertly adds volume to flat areas and surface to the 3-dimensional. In a relief of string and nails, the wall appears to billow in different directions. Reflective materials add further dimensions, allowing pieces come to life through what they reflect, and therefore existing in constant flux. They take on a kaleidoscopic quality in which reality is defragmented and reassembled with every new glance, toying with the eye of the observer. Sculptures often seem static, yet hers endlessly shift. Somewhere at Shotz crossroads of construction and experience, one finds an elegant and convincing logic.

Alyson Shotz was born in Glendale, Arizona [US]. After parallel studies in geology and art, she took her B.F.A. at the Rhode Island School of Design, and M.F.A. at the University of Washington. Shotz is based in New York, but works globally with exhibitions and special projects, most recently with a permanent installation for the Louis Vuitton flagship store in Kobe, Japan. These are her first exhibitions with Galleri Andersson/Sandström.

For more information and images, contact Elisabeth Blennow at 0705-69 49 92 or send an e-mail to stockholm@gsa.se