Untitled 1988
A form of smoothly troweled unfinished concrete occupies most of the room It is compressed between ceiling and floor swelling out around its middle...
Description
A form of smoothly troweled, unfinished concrete occupies most of the room. It is compressed between ceiling and floor, swelling out around its middle.
Jene Highstein’s Untitled is a permanent installation. It was installed at the Mattress Factory in 1986 and opened to the public in 1988.
Artist Statement
I use a series of irregular curves to make my fabricated sculptures. Since the form is made up of these curves, the sculptures seem to resemble forms found in nature: i.e. from one point of view the work may look like a natural rock form, from another an overgrown vegetable, and from another a surfacing whale. The images shift as the viewers change their point of view. I usually try and make sculptures that maximize these associations, although sometimes it is more powerful to limit them. But these are abstract works, they are not reductions from natural forms.
Jene Highstein was born in Baltimore, MD. He attended the University of Chicago and subsequently the Royal Academy Schools in London and the New York Studio School, earning degrees in philosophy and art. An artist best known for refined post-Minimalist sculptures, he favored monumental forms and was adept in a wide range of mediums, including stone, metal, wood, glass, concrete and resin. His work is related to Minimalism but is distinctive in its sensuousness and its use of curving lines and organic shapes inspired by nature.