At the Pace Gallery in Manhattan, New York City, three sculptures by the late artist and architectural designer Tony Smith have been presented as part of the Source, Tau, Throwback exhibition.
Comprised of the works Tau (1961-62), Source (1967), and Throwback (1976-77), the sculptures are formed with “a vision to animate its immediate environment, not simply adorn it—to powerfully confront the daily masses of students and the public that traveled the corner each day”.
With the sculptures made from steel painted in a semi-gloss black, Tau is composed of tetrahedral modules idiosyncratically stacked while Source encompasses two united sections measuring twenty-five feet (7.6 metres) wide and nine feet (2.7 metres) high.
“Shaped by his training and prior career as an architect, Smith’s work is animated by a dynamic concept of space and a commitment to sculpture as an object to be catalyzed by the direct engagement of the human body,” explained Pace Gallery. “Possessing no traditional front or back and occupying non-linear planes of space, Smith’s sculptures reward an ambulatory viewing experience, offering a range of perspectives and understandings as one circulates the work.”
Initially presented at Smith’s first exhibition at Pace Gallery in 1979 as a full-scale painted plywood version as well as a small version in black-painted steel, Throwback has exhibited 40 years later as a full-scale black-painted aluminum sculpture.
“While composed of Smith’s familiar combination of tetrahedrons and octahedrons, Throwback ranks among Smith’s most complex and dynamic forms,” said Pace Gallery. “Its crystalline shape projects erratically into space, destabilizing the boundaries between sculpture, viewer, and environment. Entirely resistant to a stable, singular point of perspective, the energy and force of Throwback compel the viewer’s movement and direct confrontation.”
“I like a certain amount of mystery involved, which demands involvement on the part of the person seeing it. I think the guise of the work has something to do with the kinetic quality. It demands a certain amount of action.” said Tony Smith in a 1968 interview with CBS.
