February 5, 2004
Gilberto Zorio at Sonnabend
Here is an Artforum.com review of Gilberto Zorio's exhibition at Sonnabend. The link dies two months from now, so I have included the full text:
This small show of late 1960s sculpture by Arte Povera's youngest practitioner shows just what New Yorkers missed when "Zero to Infinity" didn't come to town. Form is content in sculptures like Odio (Hate), 1969, whose title is rendered in rope encased in a dangling brick-size block of lead. Visitors may then absolve themselves via two works titled To Purify Words, both from 1969. Each presents a mouthpiece into which you can speak; your words will be cleansed as they pass through a chamber filled with alcohol. Look up to glimpse Spot IV, 1968, a small, thin rubber disc suspended near the ceiling by eight ropes extending to the edges of the room, whose presence is disproportionate to its ephemerality. Column, 1967—an inner tube trapped under a slender concrete pillar—delineates its materials' attributes and stands as an example of arte povera at its finest: with a concept so clear as to be transparent, and materials gracefully arranged.