Richard Artschwager

This book was published on the occasion of the exhibition Richard Artschwager at Gagosian, 555 West 24th Street, New York. Producing works that make the visual comprehension of space and the everyday objects in it strangely unfamiliar, Artschwager specialized in categorical confusion and revelation of the deception involved in pictorial illusionism. The paintings in this exhibition are spatially ambiguous domestic scenes with enigmatic figures made on fibrous supports in grisaille and vivid hues. The sculptures recall his earliest furniture surrogates, using Formica to form tables and two “splatter” chairs that envision dismembered seats that appear as if they have been thrown into the corner of a wall.

In addition to color plates of the sixteen exhibited works and installation photography, the catalogue includes an essay by John Yau that addresses Artschwager’s achievement. Discussing the exhibited works in depth, Yau characterizes the artist as “an inimitable maverick from the beginning, and showing no sign of letting up, he has always gone his own way, quietly and rigorously hewing to his own standards.”