Shape shifter: decoding Barbara Kasten’s perplexing Plexiglas creations
![Shape shifter: decoding Barbara Kasten’s perplexing Plexiglas creations](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/E9ihUvxQ7xQuPvhhwgJJJj-415-80.jpg)
The classical confines of London’s Thomas Dane Gallery have been reinvigorated with a vibrant new survey of Barbara Kasten’s abstract works. On view through 25 May, ‘Intervals’ comprises a tightly edited overview of the Chicago-based artist's oeuvre, which spans four decades and counting. Contrary to her stature, this is, in fact, her very first UK solo show and is testament to both her drive and inquisitive nature.
Kasten often refers to her work as ‘painting in motion’, which feels apt. Her practice involves assembling large geometric constructions using props crafted from light sensitive fabrics such as glass, mirrors and metal, and then photographing them in her studio. The conclusion is dynamic, theatrical and often perplexing. Light bounces from form to form, creating an intriguing spatial interplay between line, shape, colour and shadow.
'Construct VI D', by Barbara Kasten, 1981
Most recently, Kasten has poured her energy into transforming her photo-art stills into moving images. In Revolutions (2017), she reveals a playful mixed media projection in which light is filmed moving through a large-scale set of her signature components at three-minute intervals. ‘It took many sessions to get it right,’ she said. ‘In the end, my assistant and I developed a coordinated technique for filming that became a sort of dance routine.’ The work, which was inspired by the suprematist drawings of Kazimir Malevich, was beamed into the entrance of the space, throwing bright geometric shapes across the walls and ceiling. ‘It looks a little faded by day, but at night it’s really something,’ she added.
In the adjacent room, a small selection of early prints from her iconic series Construct proves just as compelling. Conceived during the late 1970s and early 80s, the series drew upon her enduring affinity for constructivism – consisting of staged theatrical tableaus that were captured using a large view camera. Elsewhere, her use of neon Plexiglas in the more recent photo progressions Collisions (2016) and Transpositions (2014 - 2016) is sure to intrigue viewers, who can attempt to decipher which forms are physically present and which are simply Kasten’s clever illusions.
Construct X B, 1981
Construct Iii D, 1980
Left, Scene III, 2012. Right, Transposition 24, 2016
INFORMATION
’Intervals’ is on view until 25 March. For more information, visit the Thomas Dane Gallery website
ADDRESS
3 & 11 Duke Street
London SW1Y 6BN
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
-
Feel at home at Auberge, Château La Coste's new inn for culture lovers
Auberge La Coste sits at the heart of the art-filled estate, minutes away from the joyful town of Aix-en-Provence
By Harriet Thorpe Published
-
This Nova Lima apartment is a Brazilian family oasis with striking Minas Gerais views
A Nova Lima apartment designed by Jacobsen Arquitetura celebrates its long, natural Minas Gerais vistas
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Commune’s sustainable personal care products look ‘quite unlike anything else’
Commune’s Somerset-made products stand out in the sustainable skincare crowd. Madeleine Rothery speaks with the brand’s co-founders Kate Neal and Rémi Paringaux
By Madeleine Rothery Published
-
‘Mental health, motherhood and class’: Hannah Perry’s dynamic installation at Baltic
Hannah Perry's exhibition ’Manual Labour’ is on show at Baltic in Gateshead, UK, a five-part installation drawing parallels between motherhood and factory work
By Emily Steer Published
-
Francis Alÿs plots child play around the world at the Barbican
In Francis Alÿs' exhibition ‘Ricochets’ at London’s Barbican, the artist explores the universality of play, even in challenging situations
By Amah-Rose Abrams Published
-
At Glastonbury’s Shangri-La, activism and innovation meet
Glastonbury’s south-east corner is known for its after-dark entertainment but by day, there is a different story to tell
By Rhian Daly Published
-
‘I am almost an anti-sculptor’: Dominique White on her Whitechapel Max Mara Art Prize show
The artist mines the ocean to explore Afrofuturism in ‘Deadweight’, opening at London’s Whitechapel and detailed in a new film
By Amah-Rose Abrams Published
-
Remembering Rusty Egan's Blitz Club: a place to 'avoid the mob and the homophobes', where the New Romantics were born
As he releases new vinyl boxset, 'Blitzed!', Wallpaper* meets DJ Rusty Egan to talk about London's scene-building Blitz club – the antidote to the late 70s punk scene and a hot-bed of experimental fashion
By Craig McLean Published
-
Suzannah Pettigrew's 'tender and ghostly' new show at Surrealist photographer Lee Miller's former home in East Sussex
London-based artist Suzannah Pettigrew's photographic stills create a snapshot of her Sussex coast childhood, conjuring up a hallucinatory world of memory
By Mary Cleary Published
-
The body, pleasure and play: Beryl Cook and Tom of Finland united in London
Tom of Finland’s homoeroticism meets Beryl Cook’s female-oriented camp as Studio Voltaire unites work by the two artists in a London exhibition
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Zanele Muholi celebrates South Africa’s Black LGBTI communities in LA and London
Zanele Muholi's portraits and sculptures are currently on show at Southern Guild Los Angeles and the Tate Modern, London
By Hannah Silver Published