Josiah McElheny
Installation view:
Josiah McElheny: Paintings
Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York
September 10 - October 24, 2015
Blue Prism Painting V
2015
Hand-formed cut and polished blue glass, low-iron mirror, blue architectural sheet glass, oak, Sumi ink
43 3/8 x 43 3/8 x 7 1/2 inches
(110.2 x 110.2 x 19.1 cm)
ARG# MJ2015-003
Projection Painting I
2015
Projection paint on wood, museum glass, oak, Sumi ink, projector, hardware, film loop on video
50 x 64 x 9 inches
(127 x 162.6 x 22.9 cm)
endless loop
ARG# MJ2015-013
The Past Was A Mirage I'd Left Far Behind
2011-2012
Wood, Mirror, Screen material and Projection. Seven multiple reflective screens made of mirrored glass, wood, and projection cloth. Experimental abstract films programmed to change throughout the period of one year.
dimensions variable upon installation
ARG# MJ2011-014
Installation view:
The Bloomberg Commission: Josiah McElheny
Whitechapel Gallery, London
September 7, 2011 – July 20, 2012
The Alpine Cathedral and the City-Crown
2007
Hand-blown glass, metal, painted wood, acrylic, electric lighting
14 ft x 8 ft x 9 ft 9 in
ARG# MJ2007-001
Installation view:
Josiah McElheny: The Alpine Cathedral and The City-Crown
Moderna Museet, Stockholm
December 1, 2007 - April 13, 2008
The Alpine Cathedral and the City-Crown
2007
Hand-blown glass, metal, painted wood, acrylic, electric lighting
14 ft x 8 ft x 9 ft 9 in
ARG# MJ2007-001
Installation view:
Projects 84: Josiah McElheny
The Museum of Modern Art, New York
February 12 - April 9, 2007
Crystalline Landscape after Hablik and Luckhardt III
2011 - 2012
Hand-blown molded glass objects, colored sheet glass laminated to low-iron mirror, two-way mirror, glass diffuser, electric lighting, birch plywood and steel display structure
56 h. x 57 x 30 inches
(142.2 x 144.8 x 76.2 cm)
ARG# MJ2011-019
Installation view:
Josiah McElheny: Towards a Light Club
Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, OH
January 26 – April 7, 2013
Model for a Film Set (The Light Spa at the Bottom of a Mine)
2008
Colored glass modules, cement, wood
37 x 37 1/2 x 68 inches
(94 x 95.3 x 172.7 cm)
ARG# MJ2008-001
The Light Club of Vizcaya - A Women's Picture
2012
High-definition video (color, sound)
30 minutes
Edition of 5 with 2 APs
ARG# MJ2012-019.1
Installation view:
Josiah McElheny: Artist Project Season
The Lumber Room, Portland, Oregon
September 12 - December 7, 2013
Bruno Taut's Monument to Socialist Spirituality (After Mies van der Rohe)
2009
Hand blown and molded glass modules, wood and hardware
105 3/4 x 75 x 55 inches
(268.6 x 190.5 x 139.7 cm)
ARG# MJ2009-001
Bruno Taut on Mies van der Rohe (1922), i
2009
Drawing on silver gelatin photograph using color retouching pencil
23 1/2 x 17 1/2 inches (59.7 x 44.5 cm)
Edition of 4 with 1 AP
ARG# MJ2009-005
Chromatic Modernism (Yellow, Red, Blue)
2008
Hand blown glass, colored laminated sheet glass, low iron sheet glass, anodized aluminum and electric lights
84 x 68 3/8 x 19 1/4 inches
(213.4 x 173.7 x 48.9 cm)
ARG# MJ2008-006
© Josiah McElheny
Charlotte Perriand (and Carlos Scarpa), Red
2009
Hand blown glass, wood, metal, and polished lacquer paint
31 1/4 x 90 x 13 inches
(79.4 x 228.6 x 33 cm)
ARG# MJ2009-003
Aino Aalto (and Tapio Wirkkala), Yellow
2009
Hand blown glass, wood, and polished lacquer paint
47 1/8 x 39 x 11 inches (119.7 x 99.1 x 27.9 cm)
ARG# MJ2009-004
if you lived here, you'd be home by now
curated by Josiah McElheny in conjunction with the
Blinky Palermo: Retrospective 1964-1977
Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY
June 25 - December 18, 2011
Installation view:
Some thoughts about the abstract body
Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York
May 19 - June 30, 2012
Models for an abstract body (after McQueen)
2012
patinated cold-roll steel, cedar wood, low iron glass, hand blown and carved glass
65 3/8 x 30 1/2 x 19 9/16 inches
(166.1 x 77.5 x 49.7 cm)
ARG# MJ2012-011
Walking Mirror 2
2012
cedar wood, mirror, cloth straps, metal hardware, wood pedestal, china marker drawing, performance instructions, periodic performance
66 x 33 x 30 1/4 inches
(167.6 x 83.8 x 76.8 cm)
Edition of 2, 1AP
ARG# MJ2012-014
From an Historical Anecdote about Fashion
2000
Blown glass objects, display case, five framed digital prints
case dimensions: 18 h. 25 1/2 inches, each
installation view at Donald Young Gallery, Chicago
©Josiah McElheny
The Club for Modern Fashions
2013
Glass pavilion site-specific installation and performance
ARG# MJ2013-003
Installation view:
Josiah McElheny: Two Clubs at The Arts Club of Chicago
Arts Club of Chicago
17 September - 14 December 2013
Three Screens for Looking at Abstraction
2012
Aluminum, low-iron mirror, projection cloth, film transferred to video, video projectors with stands, wood, metal hardware
Three parts, overall dimensions variable
ARG# MJ2012-004
Installation view:
Some Pictures of the Infinite
The Institute of Contemporary Art
Boston, MA
June 22 - September 23, 2012
Island Universe
2008
Chromed aluminum, handblown glass, electric lights. Consisting of five elements arranged in a grid at specific heights
Dimensions variable, largest element is approximately 12' in diameter, smallest is approximately 7' in diameter
ARG# MJ2008-004
Installation view:
Some Pictures of the Infinite
The Institute of Contemporary Art
Boston, MA
June 22 - September 23, 2012
Study for The Center Is Everywhere
2012
Brass, cut lead crystal, electric lighting, hand-bound book
84 x 32 inches, installed 6 inches above the floor; book approx. 7 x 10 inches
ARG# MJ2012-020
Installation view:
Some Pictures of the Infinite
The Institute of Contemporary Art
Boston, MA
June 22 - September 23, 2012
Verzelini's Acts of Faith (Glass from Paintings of the Life of Christ)
1996
Blown glass, text, display case
Case dimensions: 78 1/2 x 72 1/2 x 14 3/4 inches
(199.4 x 184.2 x 37.5 cm)
ARG# MJ1996-002
Endless Repeating Twentieth Century Modernism
2007
Hand-blown mirrored glass, low-iron and transparent mirror,
metal, wood, electric lighting
94 1/2 x 92 3/4 x 92 3/4 inches
(240 x 235.6 x 235.6 cm)
ARG# MJ2007-004
Twentieth Century Modernism, Mirrored and Reflected Infinitely
2006
Hand blown mirrored glass, display structure, transparent mirror and electric lighting
31 1/4 x 188 x 18 3/4 inches
(79.4 x 477.5 x 47.6 cm)
ARG# MJ2006-002
Detail of:
Twentieth Century Modernism, Mirrored and Reflected Infinitely
2006
Hand blown mirrored glass, display structure, transparent mirror and electric lighting
31 1/4 x 188 x 18 3/4 inches
(79.4 x 477.5 x 47.6 cm)
ARG# MJ2006-002
The Metal Party: Reconstructing a Party held in Dessau on February 9, 1929
2001
A Project of the Public Art Fund, New York and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA
Videos
Josiah McElheny in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's The Artist Project
Josiah McElheny: "Making a Projection Painting" on art21
Josiah McElheny: Paintings on art21
Josiah McElheny: Beauty and seduction on art21
Josiah McElheny: History and originality on art21
Josiah McElheny: "The Alpine Cathedral and the City-Crown" on art21
Josiah McElheny: "Conceptual Drawings for a Chandelier, 1965" on art21
Josiah McElheny: Assistant Anders Rydstedton art21
Josiah McElheny: Assistant Martha Friedman
Biography
Through sculpture, writing, performance, and film, Josiah McElheny investigates the history of twentieth-century modernism in hopes of expanding on the dominant historical narratives of art, aesthetics, design, and architecture, and the criticality of our relationship to them. Recognized for his conceptually rigorous approach, and a physical mastery of materials, such as glass, McElheny explores vastly-ranging topics from astronomical cosmology and the infinite, to under-recognized artists or oeuvres, including the visionary abstraction of Hilma af Klint, Blinky Palermo’s wall paintings, and Robert Smithson’s crystalline sculptures. His practice mines the past to lay the groundwork for a path forward, giving a glimpse into not only what could have been, but visions for what might be.
For full Artist Bio please download PDF below:
Exhibitions
Past
Are You Experienced?
Carsten Holler, Ben Kinmont, Josiah McElheny, Rodney Sappington and Tyler Stallings, Keith Seward and David Kelleran, and Andrea Zittel
March 11 – April 9, 1994
Main Gallery
Publications
Josiah McElheny: Paintings
Contributions by Iris Müller-Westermann and Alex Bacon
Catalogue published on the occasion of the exhibition Josiah McElheny Paintings at Andrea Rosen Gallery, September 10–October 24, 2015.
Featuring contributions by Iris Müller-Westermann, Senior Curator of International Art at the Modern Museet in Stockholm, and scholar, writer and curator, Alex Bacon.
Format: Hardcover
6.75 x 8.625 inches / 88 pages
Publisher: ARG Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-942933-27-4
September, 2015
Josiah McElheny: A Prism
Edited by Josiah McElheny and Louise Neri, Contribution by Dave Hickey and David H. Weinberg
The first major monograph on MacArthur "Genius Grant" recipient Josiah
McElheny. McElheny is a unique figure among artists of his generation: his
primary medium is glass. Over the last 15 years he has created an
extraordinary body of work exploring the relationship between art, history,
and narrative. Known for his room-size installations of glass sculptures,
the artist’s work is as rich visually as it is conceptually. With
contributions by some of the most important writers and scholars
today (including curator and writer Louise Neri, art critic Dave Hickey,
curator Helen Molesworth, and cosmologist David Weinberg) this is the most
comprehensive consideration of the artist’s work to date.Pub Date: April 20, 2010
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Skira Rizzoli
Trim Size: 9 x 11 inches / 256 pgs
ISBN: 978-0-8478-3415-0
Press
The Brooklyn Rail
Modern Painters
Josiah McElheny Press Kit
MacArthur Foundation Fellowship
Press Release
October 2006
News
Josiah McElheny in Madison Square Park Spring 2017
November 29, 2016
Andrea Rosen Gallery is pleased to recognize Josiah McElheny's Prismatic Park, a major exhibition commissioned and organized by Madison Square Park Conservancy, New York on view from June 13 - October 8, 2017.
The outdoor exhibition will comprise three exquisite sculptures in painted wood and prismatic glass: minimal, almost architectural forms that will create new spaces within the Park for the creation of music, dance, and poetry: a curvilinear, translucent blue sound wall for experimental music; a circular, reflective green floor for vanguard dance; and a vaulted-roofed luminous red and yellow pavilion for poetry. Throughout the exhibition, three nonprofit art organizations based in New York - Blank Forms, Danspace Project, and Poets House - will "inhabit" the Park to realize new commissions. McElheny has also offered the participating artists a prompt to consider the Park not only for performances, but also for rehearsals or even impromptu workshops. When not occupied by the resident artists, the public will have access to the sculptures to view or to adopt as a framework for their own innovative use.
In recent years, various parks have been especially important as sites for political assertion, such as Gezi Park in Istanbul, Tahrir Square in Cairo, and Zuccotti Park in New York. McElheny takes impetus from the activism of recent years, but Prismatic Park reconceives this ferment as an idealistic, almost utopian concept for the shared responsibility towards a public site that still allots space for the highly individual, unique voice.
Josiah McElheny at the Columbus Museum of Art
On December 8th, join a conversation with Josiah McElheny, Professor Ron Green and curator Tyler Cann about McElheny's Three Screens for Looking at Abstraction at the Columbus Museum of Art. Tickets available here.
Columbus Museum of Art
480 East Broad Street
Columbus, OH
Josiah McElheny at the Whitney Museum of American Art
October 26, 2016
Dreamlands: Immersive Cinema and Art, 1905–2016 at the Whitney Museum of American Art includes the work of Josiah McElheny. Organized by Chrissie Iles, the exhibition will be on view from October 26, 2016 through February 5, 2017.
Whitney Museum of American Art
99 Gansevoort Street
New York, NY 10014
Josiah McElheny at the Museum of Modern Art, New York
September 13, 2016
Josiah McElheny is participating in a panel entitled "Lost Chapters of Modernism: Case Studies" at the Museum of Modern Art in conjunction with the exhibition Dadaglobe Reconstructed. More information on the event can be found here.
The Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53 Street
New York, NY 10019
Josiah McElheny performances at MAK, Vienna
May 11, 2016
Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Josiah McElheny: The Ornament Museum, performances will be staged with the actress Susanne Sachsse in a dress reconstructed from a 1908 Emilie Louise Flöge design.
Performances
with Susanne Sachsse, Actress, Berlin
Tue, 17 May 2016, 7 p.m.
Tue, 13 Sept 2016, 7 p.m.
Tue, 18 Oct 2016, 6 p.m.
Sat, 19 Nov 2016, 5 p.m.
Tue, 24 Jan 2017, 7 p.m.
MAK – Austrian Museum of Applied Arts / Contemporary Art
Stubenring 5, 1010
Vienna, Austria
Josiah McElheny on Ellsworth Kelly at artforum.com
April 27, 2016
Josiah McElheny has written a tribute to Ellsworth Kelly on artforum.com.
Josiah McElheny at MAK - Museum für angewandte Kunst, Vienna
April 26, 2016
Josiah McElheny's The Ornamental Museum will be on view at MAK - Österreichisches Museum für angewandte Kunst, Vienna from April 27, 2016 - February 4, 2017. The artist has designed a museum in the Museum and thus makes a direct reference to the extensive collections of the MAK.
For more information on the exhibition, please click here.
Joisah McElheny in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's The Artist Project
March 4, 2016
Josiah McElheny discusses a work by Horace Pippin for Season 5 of The Metropolitan Museum of Art's The Artist Project.
Josiah McElheny/Paul Scheerbart Film Festival
November 20 - 23, 2014
GLASS! LOVE!! PERPETUAL MOTION!!!
A FILM FESTIVAL FOR PAUL SCHEERBART (1863-1915)
November 20, 21, 22, 23
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday evenings
An homage to Paul Scheerbart, brought to you by Josiah McElheny and friends.
Josiah McElheny Speaks at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
February 9, 2013
Free Lecture:
Venetian Glass by Carlo Scarpa: The Venini Company, 1932–1947
Sunday, February 9, 3:00–4:30 p.m.
Josiah McElheny at The Arts Club of Chicago
September 17 - December 14, 2013
Josiah McElheny: Two Clubs
The Arts Club of Chicago
201 E. Ontario Street,
Chicago, IL 60611