Arik LEVY
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"FORMATIONS"
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Solo show
from July 28 to September 15
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RockFormations are phrases of poetry in space interacting with their surroundings in a kinetic fashion and reflecting on the redefinition of gravity. Each composition is a micro/macro space to interplay with.
The formations call the viewer to engage with their space of action; they appear as if they were just placed there a second ago by an unknown hand or an entity that tries to tell us about something we had not noticed before. Arranging, piling, overlapping, balancing and positioning things are everyday actions we do not give a lot of importance to, but that are in fact done with a lot of intuition and uncontrolled internal order. After being in contact with the RockFormations, we immediately think of these statements of balance and serenity, physical or mental, emotional or social balance.
The Rock set series are pieces that are independent from one another and can therefore originate an endlessness of compositions. The elements that compose each formation do not necessarily stand upright, unless they are attached and play as counterbalance one for the other or one against the other. The brain understands that immediately and the search for the “truth” starts, before we even manage to intellectualize the thought: the brain asks, “is it self standing?” and if so, “why or how?” The dialogue between the viewer and the sculpture is then established and we turn around it to observe and search. These compositions actually talk about the internal balance of our soul, our emotions and psychological status and structure. They also put in question everything else around them, creating a negative versus positive arena.
Derived from the Rock sculptures series, RockFormations find the re-definition of their DNA not in the shape of each element, but in the formation they construct together. The minimalist form language and the absence of any mannerism make us read the outer shape of the sculptures and understand their formation as a group.
RockFormations read in more dimensions than it appears: while wishing to reduce the form its bodily shape to a minimum to avoid any seduction, the composition takes control of the space and of the viewer’s eye. Possible/impossible assemblies, balance/imbalance positions: the elements appear to be held by invisible forces, gravity and vision and their stability /fragility, are both examined intuitively by our subconscious that takes sides and positions itself. By doing that, what was static becomes dynamic: new formulations are made, new platforms of conversations, metaphors and interpretations are generated. This initiates reconstruction, evolution and dynamics at the same time emotional, visual, psychological and physical...like an injection of positive vibes.
If we look at the sculptures from a geometric point of view in space, we can easily associate with the vertical and horizontal surfaces they create, much like geological layers across the space. In the same way the vertical rocks draw planes in space, that will section the surroundings in different angles. Once you see this, you can walk in to a new and different space metrics generated by the formations.
An unintentionally concealed abstract figurative intention can be understood from these forms. When looking at formations from different angles, one can imagine that a human figure has just left and that the faceted mineral appearance of the sculpture is the generalized result of a bodily gesture. We tend to be willing to see a figure in many things around us and the brain completes the picture for us creating the missing junction between what we see and what we want to see. The formation in this case is like a stimulator or a door to another space of mind and imagination.
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Arik Levy 2022
