Sarah Sze

March 30, 2005 10:48 AM

Sarah Sze is an incredible artist (link is to a large image). Things fall apart (jeep cherokee), slow growth sets in and paint peels off the walls. Objects stretch out toward each other. Detail persists on a large and small scale. Here's a resume. Here are a few more images and a review. Here's another short article.
posted by nobody (24 comments total)

This is really cool stuff. I feel like I need to see her work in person to get anywhere near the full effect of the art. These pictures are too cropped and small.
posted by CaptMcalister at 11:00 AM on March 30, 2005

Great post! I love Sarah Sze. I first saw an installation she at at Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art. When I saw her later piece in the foyer of the SFMOMA, I was blown away.

It's interesting when you look at her early stuff in comparison to what she's doing now. The earlier work arranges elements really mechanically with lots of square angles and taxonomic structures. Its boilerplate installation art with a sort of Obsessive Compulsive ethos. Her stuff now just soars. It's as if she figured out, at some point, how to command 3 dimensional space, to brilliant effect.

Oh, and she's hot.
posted by felix betachat at 11:03 AM on March 30, 2005

Amazing. It's so damn kinetic - it's as if the work was unleashed, not assembled.
posted by FormlessOne at 11:13 AM on March 30, 2005

Fascinating stuff, here. Thanks for the heads-up.
posted by joe lisboa at 11:16 AM on March 30, 2005

Cool. Thanks for the post. I am now taking all my office supplies and turning my office into a sculpture.
posted by Outlawyr at 11:16 AM on March 30, 2005

*puts away Things To Do Before I Die/Hit List*

Unreal is about all I can say at this point. And I gathered that from a 450px x 450px image. Can't wait to see one of her exhibits.
posted by panoptican at 11:28 AM on March 30, 2005

Her stuff is just out of control... I saw the Jeep at SFMOMA several times and it always freaked me out. Anyone seen the new "Scotch Tape" wall they have there?
posted by gunthersghost at 11:43 AM on March 30, 2005

and she's speaking in new york soon: whitney, Wednesday, April 6, 7pm.
posted by RJ Reynolds at 11:58 AM on March 30, 2005

Odinsdream - the MFA had one of her pieces in their main lobby sometime within the last year. It was the one that started with a piece of paper held just above the ground by a string and went up some two stories or so. Unfortunately, it was gone last time I visited.
posted by ubersturm at 12:05 PM on March 30, 2005

That artwork is impressive, I imagine the upkeep is prohibitive though and shipping is an unpleasant process. Too bad a photo can't begin to express the kinetic energy.
posted by Vaska at 12:07 PM on March 30, 2005

That Boston MFA piece in the lobby was outstanding. So many adjectives come to mind -- you really have to see one in person.
posted by Toecutter at 12:10 PM on March 30, 2005

I'm usually not a fan of modern installation art, but it's usually because it's sloppy, pretentious, and poorly executed. This stuff is visually very interesting to me, though, so I'm giving a thumbs up. Cool stuff - good to know its out there.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 12:35 PM on March 30, 2005

I would LOVE to see some of her work. Maybe the wife and I will make a pilgrimage at some point.
posted by geekhorde at 2:32 PM on March 30, 2005

I would imagine this is far more interesting in person than the pictures are relaying because I'm seeing the pics and thinking "Meh!"
posted by fenriq at 2:45 PM on March 30, 2005

Im with fenriq. However when I imagine the installations I have seen in situ photographed and posted online, I realise that stuff like this has to be experienced in person.
posted by fire&wings at 3:06 PM on March 30, 2005

I've seen "Things Fall Apart" at SFMOMA, and I too was blown away. Amazing stuff.
posted by gohlkus at 3:14 PM on March 30, 2005

The installations are WONDERFUL in person. There was (is ?) one in the West Wing of the Boston MFA. Yea Sarah Sze!
posted by R. Mutt at 3:26 PM on March 30, 2005

Am I the only one thinking, "Mousetrap!"?

Very interesting work though. I love Thing Fall Apart.
posted by jackiemcghee at 3:40 PM on March 30, 2005

Thanks nobody. I'd never heard of Sze, but I really enjoyed each and every link.

Can anyone tell me how her name is pronounced?
posted by gesamtkunstwerk at 4:17 PM on March 30, 2005

Like it's spelled? Sorry, couldn't resist.

I'll echo the comments about Things Fall Apart in person. Amazing is the right word.
posted by mrgrimm at 4:50 PM on March 30, 2005

Can anyone tell me how her name is pronounced?

"Zee" is what I've heard.
posted by felix betachat at 4:54 PM on March 30, 2005

Thanks Nobody! I saw her Jeep years ago @SFMOMA and it absolutely blew me away, though I never bothered to look into her work beyond that piece. Thanks for the prod.
posted by shoepal at 8:32 PM on March 30, 2005

My girlfriend got to work with her in the print shop at MassArt when Sarah Sze was a visiting artist. Now we've got one of the prints she made hanging in our kitchen.
posted by spaghetti at 8:36 PM on March 30, 2005

Nice post! Sarah Sze is one of my favorite contemporary artists and is such an inspiration! I've been jonesing for some of her old catalogues (pre-Genius grant) for years now, but they're all out of print, sadly.
posted by mosspink at 9:24 AM on March 31, 2005