Judy Pfaff : New Installation at Rice Gallery

Tuesday, 27 February 2007 20:21

HOUSTON, Texas - Rice Gallery has commissioned pioneer of installation art, Judy Pfaff, to create a new installation. Internationally recognized, Pfaff works intuitively, improvising on-site and creating work that is specific to a particular space. Pfaff, whose work also includes sculpture, painting, drawing, and printmaking, is often described as an artist whose work seeks to make painting more sculptural and sculpture more painterly. In 2004, Pfaff was named a MacArthur Fellow and joined the illustrious roster of recipients of what is colloquially known as the "genius grant." The event is free and open to the public. On exhibition until 1 April, 2007.

Pfaff’s work has been called "exuberant" and "lush," "tumultuous" and "gorgeous." Her installations, made by layering materials and patterns in space, have been characterized as "dancing at the edge of chaos."Often organic in feeling, her materials have just as often been organic in nature – employing objects such as massive tree branches and vines. Her most recent installation, Buckets of Rain (2006), was one such visually rich and tactile environment. Pfaff painted entire trees and root complexes in hues of inky black and ghostly white, and augmented them with oozing black foam. The dense and ominous tangles of branches were juxtaposed with a smooth floor-to-ceiling hourglass-shaped structure and textured grey painted walls covered with sleek fluorescent light strips.

In early January, Pfaff will drive a truck full of raw material – plus toolboxes and welders – from upstate New York to Houston. Upon arrival she will start experimenting and assembling on-site. There are no precise plans or explanatory drawings for her projects. Pfaff enters an exhibition space not knowing exactly what will happen in the same way that a professional athlete goes onto the field not knowing exactly what will happen. Instead, she relies on knowledge, skills, and experience to carry her through. In discussing a previous show, Pfaff has said, "I didn’t know what it was going to look like, but I did know what it was going to feel  like."

Judy Pfaff was born in London in 1946 and raised in Detroit. She received a BFA from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri in 1971 and an MFA from Yale University in 1973. Pfaff’s work has been exhibited worldwide in major museums and galleries, including The Museum of Modern Art, New York and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.

In September 2004, the John D. and Katherine T. MacArthur Foundation named Pfaff a MacArthur Fellow. MacArthur Fellows are recognized for "extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits." Judy Pfaff is the Richard B. Fisher Professor in the Arts, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.

Special funding for this exhibition was provided by The Eleanor and Frank Freed Foundation, Houston, Texas, and The Nightingale Code Foundation, Houston, Texas.

Rice Gallery exhibitions and programs receive major support from Rice Gallery Patrons and Members, The Brown Foundation, Inc., and the Kilgore Endowment. Exhibition catalogues are funded in part by the Robert J. Card, M.D. and Karol Kreymer Catalogue Endowment. The gallery receives partial operating support from the City of Houston. KUHF-FM and Saint Arnold Brewing Company provide in-kind support. Rice Gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday 11:00 – 5:00, Thursday until 7:00, and Sunday, noon to 5:00. The gallery is closed Mondays and university holidays.
For more information, visit www.ricegallery.org