The Bell Gallery is hosting an exhibit by sculptor Richard Fishman. ‘What Remains’ includes sculpture created over the past two years and records a period of transition as the artist moved beyond his well-known Elm Tree Project. The show runs though October 29.
The elm slabs are cast in or covered over with carbon composite. While the earlier slabs retain their association with the wood surface, as time passes and the series progresses, the link to the organic is broken. The black surfaces of the large slabs are marked alternately, by the inherent pattern of carbon fiber fabric, by a sensuous and rich matte black, or—in an grouping of near-identical planks—by high-gloss surfaces that reflect and mirror light sources and viewers.
The meditative calm of the slabs finds a counterpoint in the swirling lines, thorny texture, and prickly appendages of Fishman’s recent freestanding sculptures.
The slab in the first room is a flat, light-absorbing monolith that draws the viewer in à la Rothko. The slabs in the back room are curved and highly glossed and make your ass look big.
Richard Fishman has been a member of the Department of Visual Art at Brown since 1965.
Through October 29, Bell Gallery, List Art Center, 64 College Street, (directions)