Josiah McElheny : some pictures of the 1nfinite / Helen Molesworth ; with contributions by Doug Ashford [and others] ; [exhibition curator, Helen Molesworth ; exhibition editor, Lucy Flint]
Catalog of an exhibition held at The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, Mass., June 22-Oct. 14, 2012.
Contents:
Director's foreword / Jill Medvedow -- Acknowledgments / Helen Molesworth -- Josiah McElheny: a dictionary of ideas / Helen Molesworth -- Ad infinitum / Maria Gough -- Works in the exhibition / Taylor Walsh -- Travels in the Roman empire -- The first glass loving cups -- The theory of tears -- Halo after Botticelli and Recreating a miraculous object -- Collection of glass concerning the search for infinity -- Four mirrors after a poem by Jorge Luis Borges and Possible mirrors -- Czech modernism mirrored and reflected infinitely -- Island universe (film) -- Design presentation for a chandelier, 1965 and Drawings and photographs for a chandelier, 1965 -- Scale model for a totally reflective landscape (industry) and (expo) -- Island universe (installation) -- The infinite repetition of revolt / Andrea Geyer and Josiah McElheny -- Three screens for looking at abstraction -- Studies in the search for infinity -- Eternity through the stars -- Study for The center is everywhere -- Artists on works by Josiah McElheny -- The problem of wonderment / Gregg Bordowitz -- Island Universe x 2 / Moyra Davey -- I see and I feel and I don't comprehend: a study in the search for infinity / Andrea Geyer -- Multiverse / Zoe Leonard -- Landscape painting / R.H. Quaytman -- Talking about the work of Josiah McElheny: a conversation between Doug Ashford, Bill Horrigan, and Helen Molesworth -- Checklist of the exhibition -- Contributors
Summary:
Josiah McElheny (b. 1966 in Boston) explores the representation of time and space through the medium of glass, one of the oldest forms of object making in human history. Inspired by the design objects of daily life, such as glassware or chandeliers, he develops abstract sculptures and complex installations. This publication features examples of his work from the past fifteen years, and in particular it traces the artist's investigation of the concept of infinity, which he links to thinking about utopia. For instance, infinity is used as a constant in mathematical equations that allow scientists to speculate about things and phenomena unseen, just as utopia is a historical construct that permits unrealized yet aspirational activities.
