Robin Mandel: Sculpture

November 19, 2005 - January 7, 2006 // Opening Reception: Saturday, November 19, 7 - 9 pm

Artist's Talk: Saturday, December 3 @ Noon ( Gallery closed November 23 - 28 for Thanksgiving )

Videos of works in the exhibit / Critic's Pick review by Cate McQuaid in Boston Globe 12/22/2005 Calendar Section

PDF of Press Release / more writing by Robin Mandel on works in exhibit

Images of Opening Reception

Installation views / link to full length Artist's Talk ( Dec. 3, 2005)

Green Street Gallery is pleased to present the first solo exhibit of work by Robin Mandel. Mandel is a Rhode Island-based sculptor who creates intriguing, beautifully crafted objects that often employ movement to engage the viewer and to animate a narrative. Much of the most recent work distills activities, relationships or objects down to their iconic essentials: “Nights and Weekends” motorizes both the task of ironing and the toasting of two wine glasses, “Window” is a three dimensional drawing ( in black welded steel) of the quintessential domestic window: double hung with drapes and a window box. But while these scenarios simplify the setting, the drama that takes place within it remains surprisingly nuanced and–like our approach to many quotidian activities–usually includes a healthy sense of humor.

Robin Mandel, Nights and Weekends (L) and "Window" (R)

According to Mandel, “ There is the tradition of theater in which the seamlessness of the
illusion is valued, and where this illusion of reality is upheld by a set of conventions: the concealed lighting, period costumes, the proscenium stage, with the audience located at a distance, viewing from a fixed vantage point.  But there are other traditions of theater where the illusion is exposed to varying degrees: bunraku puppetry, mime, improvisation.  In a way, the conventions of these alternative traditions can be thought of as solutions; solutions to the problem of evoking a convincing version of reality within a given set of constraints.  The constraints can be physical, i.e. the challenge of manipulating a complex puppet in gravity, or they can be thought of as economic; getting maximum emotional force from limited means – no props, no costumes, no lights.  In any case, the magic that occurs is that we become simultaneously aware of both the problem and the solution.  We can see the puppeteer in black, we can see that there is no teacup in the mime’s hand, but we can also see that the drama portrayed still resonates, despite these rifts in the illusion.  In fact, the drama resonates that much deeper in its transcendence of the rifts that are left exposed. In this context, I make sense of the relationship in my kinetic works between the animated “drama” and the mechanism that animates it.  In the piece Nights & Weekends, the box conceals the motor, but the objects are linked to the motor by wires and rods that are plainly visible.  The illusion of ghostly, disembodied motion is not the goal; the evocation of a set of relationships, through the sound and motion of these objects, is what is desired.  The objects begin to take on character traits and relate to each other as figures in some family drama, and the tension, the strife, the romance of this drama coexists with the mechanical elements of the sculpture.  There is a delineation between the two – the box forms a kind of envelope around the motor – but the viewer remains aware of both.”

Mandel is a master of communication, he creates a rare combination of familiarity, curiosity and tone of voice that together make the whole experience of any one of his sculptures much greater than the sum of its parts. Graphic, symbolic elements interact with everyday items to create just enough magic to compel a viewer to mentally inhabit the arena/scenario of the sculpture and to figure out “what it means”. This investigation inevitably opens up a much richer narrative than the initial fascination with “how it is made.” The very specific, personal memories of moving to a new home or eating a romantic dinner, for example, are entertainingly animated and then set loose within the individual imagination of each person who remembers their own history relating to these activities. This open-ended narrative, one which partners with the participant’s history, in combination with the well crafted visual economy of the structures, creates a compelling, wide ranging and empathetic experience for the audience.

– James Hull, Curator