Sculpture series: Liz Glynn pays tribute to Rodin at LACMA
Ungentle is a fictional journey through 20th-century Britain, exploring the relationship between espionage and male homosexuality. A collaboration between Huw Lemmey and Onyeka Igwe, the film is on view at London’s Studio Voltaire in September
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- Sign up to our newsletter Newsletter

With the growth of RoseLee Goldberg’s Performa (opens in new tab), a non-profit organization dedicated to live art performance, there’s been a heightened visibility to this specialty. All eyes are on the versatile Los Angeles-based artist Liz Glynn, who not only takes on performance art, but also straddles sculpture as well. A case in point is the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (opens in new tab) showcasing ‘Liz Glynn: The Myth of Singularity’ (opens in new tab), a series of eight massive bronze sculptures, which all reference Rodin’s storied work.
‘These bronzes are really the realisation of Liz’s initial performance,’ notes LACMA curator José Luis Blondet. The craggy bronzes range from Glynn’s full-scale rendition of Rodin’s Balzac to other life-size human figures.
By definition, performance is of an ephemeral nature but that is merely one element in Glynn’s complex project. ‘She sought to create a performative work, which would explore sculpture and its process and lead to bronzes that would engender a continuing dialogue in terms of monumental works, human scale and more,’ remarks Blondet. Glynn first took a set of rubber molds for portions of Rodin’s works, while also studying the processes of sculptors, such as Richard Serra.
From there she developed and produced the performance The Myth of Singularity (after Rodin), in which a total of ten sculptors led by Glynn took plaster casts of portions of his work.
Now when visitors see Liz’s Thinker right along side paintings by Gauguin and Pissarro as well as Rodin’s work, that makes for a sense of tension between the examples. In the museum’s adjacent Rodin Sculpture Garden, Glynn’s other creations are perched.
‘And they all continue the artistic dialogue which Rodin believed essential,’ adds Blondet. As Rodin said: ‘What about cathedrals? Are they ever finished?’
Glynn first took a set of rubber molds for portions of Rodin’s works, while also studying the processes of sculptors, such as Richard Serra. From there she developed and produced the performance The Myth of Singularity (after Rodin), in which a total of ten sculptors led by Glynn took plaster casts of portions of his work
Pictured: Untitled (after Balzac, with Burgher), 2014
'She sought to create a performative work, which would explore sculpture and its process and lead to bronzes that would engender a continuing dialogue in terms of monumental works, human scale and more,’ remarks curator José Luis Blondet
Glynn's pieces are installed at LACMA's sculpture garden and in the gallery
INFORMATION
‘Liz Glynn: The Myth of Singularity’ is showcased at a number of venues throughout LACMA (website (opens in new tab)) until 22 May 2016
Photography: Courtesy of LACMA
ADDRESS
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
5905 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles
VIEW GOOGLE MAPS (opens in new tab)
-
Definitive 1990s designer Martine Sitbon to return to Paris Fashion Week
Former Chloé creative director Martine Sitbon has announced she will return to Paris Fashion Week in March 2023 with a project titled Rev, which draws on her archival designs
By Jack Moss • Published
-
Louis Barthélemy’s tapestries capture the sublimity and dynamism of Senegalese wrestling
‘Mbër Yi / The Wrestlers’ at the Théodore Monod African Art Museum (IFAN) in Dakar sees French artist Louis Barthélemy respond to Senegalese mysticism in appliquéd hangings
By Emeline Nsingi Nkosi • Published
-
Braun and Kith rethink classic clock design
Dieter Rams and Dietrich Lubs’ original 1980s design is given a modern mood in the Kith for Braun BC 17 wall clock
By Hannah Silver • Published
-
Theaster Gates’ New Museum exhibition meditates on mourning, materials and community
Theaster Gates talks about his first US museum show, ‘Young Lords and Their Traces’ at The New Museum (until 5 February 2023), a moving homage to the creative forces who came before
By Pei-Ru Keh • Published
-
New York art exhibitions: what to see this winter
Stay up-to-date with our ongoing guide to the best new and upcoming New York art exhibitions and events for your diary
By Tilly Macalister-Smith • Published
-
London art exhibitions: a guide for early 2023
Your guide to the best London art exhibitions, and those around the UK, as chosen by the Wallpaper* arts desk
By Harriet Lloyd Smith • Published
-
Michael Heizer’s Nevada ‘City’: the land art masterpiece that took 50 years to conceive
Michael Heizer’s City in the Nevada Desert (1972-2022) has been awarded ‘Best eighth wonder’ in the 2023 Wallpaper* design awards. We explore how this staggering example of land art came to be
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith • Published
-
Cyprien Gaillard on chaos, reorder and excavating a Paris in flux
We interviewed French artist Cyprien Gaillard ahead of his major two-part show, ‘Humpty \ Dumpty’ at Palais de Tokyo and Lafayette Anticipations (until 8 January 2023). Through abandoned clocks, love locks and asbestos, he dissects the human obsession with structural restoration
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith • Published
-
Cerith Wyn Evans: ‘I love nothing more than neon in direct sunlight. It’s heartbreakingly beautiful’
Cerith Wyn Evans reflects on his largest show in the UK to date, at Mostyn, Wales – a multisensory, neon-charged fantasia of mind, body and language
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith • Published
-
Vanessa Beecroft’s ethereal performance and sculpture exhibition explore Sicily’s cultural history
At the historic Palazzo Abatellis, Sicily, Vanessa Beecroft has unveiled ‘VB94’, a new tableau vivant comprising a one-time performance and a new series of sculptures, the latter on view until 8 January
By Hili Perlson • Published
-
Francis Gallery Los Angeles is a haven of harmony, natural materials and Korean art
We speak to gallerist Rosa Park, founder of the new Francis Gallery Los Angeles, which has opened with a show of six emerging and established Korean artists
By Tilly Macalister-Smith • Last updated