Judy Pfaff
September 10 – December 24, 2004
Awarded a 2004 MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, Judy Pfaff is an artist whose achievements defy stylistic categorization. Since the 1970s Judy Pfaff has mingled drawing, painting, and sculpture in her installation art and this mingling has enriched her development and nourished the generation of artists who followed her. As the centerpiece of this exhibition, the installation titled Horror Vacui, 1988 says it all. Judy Pfaff’s nature abhors a vacuum and she fills every inch of available space with color, line, shapes and texture when invited to exhibit.
Carl Solway Gallery has invited Pfaff to reconstruct a number of her notable installation pieces from the end of the ‘Eighties decade. In this period she gained international prominence in group and solo shows mounted in Cologne, Tokyo, Venice and all the major arts centers of America. Pfaff’s work first appeared in Cincinnati at the CAC in 1980 and again in 1981. Carl Solway Gallery invited her to curate an exhibition "The Level of Volume" for the National Woman’s Sculpture Conference held in 1987 and her work was shown simultaneously at the Gallery and at the CAC during this impressive gathering of talent.
Es Possible, 1989, Painted wiggle board and steel, 96 x 144 x 48 inches, Pfaff spends a lot of time in her studio: the television is always on. She began to watch international soccer matches and became attracted to the array of colors worn by the players. The fans added the national flags and their own colorful jerseys and Es Possible was the result.
Horror Vacui, 1988, Painted steel wire, 118 x 258 x 108 inches (variable), Exemplifies Pfaff’s ebullient generous nature. It is light and airy, instantly appealing and yet rigorously designed so as to appear effortless. Careful calculation results in the cast shadows that mimic the painted discs and the interplay of black, white and grey has been plotted. Despite its size and volumes it evokes a child playing with a bubble wand.
Materello, 1992, Woven magnet wire, steel, blown glass, 95 x 125 x 75 inches
Drawing for Horror Vacui, 1988, Mixed adhesive plastics on Mylar with iron frame, 103 3/4 X 124 inches (framed)
Loaves and Fishes #9, 1988, Mixed media, 49 x 31 inches framed
Untitled, 1988, Mixed adhesive plastics on Mylar with wood and painted metal, 106 x 82 x 5 inches (framed)
Scopa #6 (sette bello), 1988, Mixed adhesive plastics on Mylar, 61 1/2 x 42 image; 73 x 50 framed
Melone, 1987, Woodcut, 55 x 64 inches