New York – Pace is pleased to exhibit new sculptures by Richard Tuttle at its 540 West 25th Street gallery in New York. Open from May 6 to June 11, the exhibition, titled Particles, has wood and cast bronze works that reflect the artist’s longstanding engagement with material as a method for construction. Each work takes its title from a grammatical particle—a word whose meaning is mutable and derived from context. The open and closed structures represent both the form of the particle and interest in the language that underlies it..
Particles is Tuttle’s twelfth solo show with Pace since 2007. Intimate, idiosyncratic, and diverse, his practice consistently incorporates a developmental approach that grows in range and inquiry with each work. The artist is happiest in a quandary, when the work is neither painting nor sculpture, but an amalgam of the two mediums. His work is always marked by unconventional uses of beauty and poetry and their radical means as materials. Over six decades, Tuttle has considered the myriad ways in which light, scale, and systems of display flow into the world and make it better.
The exhibition will comprise ten works, all of which will be seen in their original size based on a three-inch cube. The maquettes in the exhibition are set on a foundation and shown at table height. A larger size without a foundation in wood was derived from these so that three inches equals 24 inches. Six of these will be shown in wood. The remaining four will be shown in cast bronze.
To make the sculptures independent of architecture, the gallery space will be painted two shades of green, offering a passage for the viewer to experience the creation of space rather than its use.
The four bronze sculptures are the largest works of this kind made by the artist to date. In creating these works, Tuttle collaborated with UAP foundry, using sandcasting and leaving their surfaces unpatinated. The result is an openness of the surface, which breathes and releases a structure neither geometric nor figurative.
Tuttle has written a poem for these works:
Grammar
is work
a particle
love How
do we know
this if ev
erything
is dark?
Pace will present an online exhibition focused on the artist’s notebooks to complement the show in New York.
Tuttle’s exhibition at Pace will be on view concurrently with Richard Tuttle: What Is the Object?, a show at the Bard Graduate Center in New York running until July 10. Featuring exhibition furniture made specially for the presentation, Tuttle’s show at Bard includes 70 objects from his personal collection, highlighting the connections between his art and practice of collecting. An accompanying catalogue includes a long fictional piece by Tuttle, titled Tennessee Seed Pearl, and other writing.
Richard Tuttle‘s (b. 1941, Rahway, New Jersey) direct and seemingly simple deployment of objects and
gestures reflects a careful attention to materials and experience. Rejecting the rationality and precision of
Minimalism, Tuttle embraced a handmade quality in his invention of forms that emphasize line, shape, color,
and space as central concerns. He has resisted medium-specific designations for his work, employing the term
drawing to encompass what could otherwise be termed sculpture, painting, collage, installation, and
assemblage. Overturning traditional constraints of material, medium, and method, Tuttle’s works sensitize
viewers to their perceptions. His working process, in which one series begets the next, is united by a consistent
quest to create objects that are expressions of their own totality.
Pace is a leading international art gallery representing some of the most influential contemporary artists and estates from the past century, holding decades-long relationships with Alexander Calder, Jean Dubuffet, Barbara Hepworth, Agnes Martin, Louise Nevelson, and Mark Rothko. Pace enjoys a unique U.S. heritage spanning East and West coasts through its early support of artists central to the Abstract Expressionist and Light and Space movements.
Since its founding by Arne Glimcher in 1960, Pace has developed a distinguished legacy as an artist-first gallery that mounts seminal historical and contemporary exhibitions. Under the current leadership of President and CEO Marc Glimcher, Pace continue s to support its artists and share their visionary work with audiences worldwide by remaining at the foref ront of innovation. Now in its seventh decade, the gallery advances its mission through a robust global program—comprising exhibitions, artist projects, public installations, institutional collaborations, performances, and interdisciplinary projects. Pace has a legacy in art bookmaking and has published over five hundred titles in close collaboration with artists, with a focus on original scholarship and on introducing new voices to the art historical canon.
The gallery has also spearheaded explorations into the intersection of art and technology through its new business models, exhibition interpretation tools, and representation of artists cultivating advanced studio practices. Pace’s presence in Silicon Valley since 2016 has bolstered its longstanding support of experimental practices and digital artmaking. As part of its commitment to technologically engaged artists within and beyond its program, Pace launched a hub for its Web3 activity, Pace Verso, in November 2021.
Today, Pace has ten locations worldwide including a European foothold in London and Geneva, and two galleries in New York—its headquarters at 540 West 25th Street, which welcomed almost 120,000 visitors and programmed 20 shows in its first six months, and an adjacent 8,000 sq. ft. exhibition space at 510 West 25th Street. Pace was one of the first international galleries to establish outposts in Asia, where it operates permanent gallery spaces in Hong Kong and Seoul, as well as an office and viewing room in Beijing. In 2020, Pace opened satellite exhibition spaces in East Hampton and Palm Beach, with continued programming on a seasonal basis. In 2022, the gallery opened its West Coast flagship in Los Angeles, and continues to operate its gallery in Palo Alto.
