Stainless steel, fiberglass
and automotive paint

November 29, 2006 – May 1, 2007

At Doris C. Freedman Plaza
in Central Park

Liz Larner's 2001 is a virtuoso reinterpretation of the two quintessential geometric forms of modernist sculpture—the sphere and the cube. It represents six different points of progression between these two shapes, all superimposed on one common center point to create a multifaceted three-dimensional object. Twelve feet high, deep and wide, and painted in green and purple iridescent urethane, 2001 is an enigmatic shape-shifter; its contour and color change with the viewer's angle and the overall light conditions so that it seems to be both at rest and undergoing metamorphosis. Made using a computer animation program and constructed of industrial materials, 2001 is the largest and most technically sophisticated example of the artist's ongoing examination of the dynamic potential of static objects. At once sci-fi futuristic and gemlike, giant yet indeterminate, Larner's sleek experiment with simultaneity invites the viewer in, and around, for a closer look.

Since the mid-1980s, Larner has been renowned for her inventive explorations of the fundamental elements of modern and contemporary sculpture: volume, mass, line, density and substance. Her idiosyncratic formalism employs unexpected hues and a wide range of unconventional materials, addressing the relationship between objects and persons. One of her earliest acclaimed bodies of work is the "Culture" series of the late 1980s, in which she placed collections of disparate things in agar-filled jars or petri dishes, allowing bacteria to act on one another and observing the process of decay. While her focus soon shifted toward perceptual and structural concerns—such as the way that material can articulate space without volume—her sculptural work has always retained the sense of immediacy and playful experimentation of the "Culture" series.

About Doris C. Freedman Plaza
Named for the founder of the Public Art Fund, Doris C. Freedman Plaza has been the site of more than 40 artist projects and commissions, featuring works by both internationally known and emerging artists including Sarah Sze, Wim Delvoye, Richard Deacon, Paul McCarthy, Juan Muñoz, Keith Edmier, Mark Handforth and Chinatsu Ban.

This exhibition is made possible through the cooperation of the City of New York, Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor; Patricia E. Harris, First Deputy Mayor; Department of Parks & Recreation, Adrian Benepe, Commissioner; and Department of Cultural Affairs, Kate D. Levin, Commissioner.

Special thanks to Regen Projects, Los Angeles.

Location
2001 is on view at 60th Street and Fifth Avenue, at the entrance to Central Park.

Subways: N, R to Fifth Avenue; 4, 5, 6 to 59th Street/Lexington Avenue.