At first glance, Tara Donovan’s colossal paper towers, on view at Pace Gallery, appear as glacial landscapes, looming over you as you walk around them. Upon closer inspection, you see that they are composed of tiny crisscrossing paper squares the size of Post-It notes or index cards.
Said Donovan, “Certainly the scale of my work is always in relation to the human body. I also think about the experience of my work as being theatrical in a sense. The placement of the work in a space, how it is lit, and the amount of surrounding space are all very calculated. There is a sense I get of wanting to choreograph someone’s experience of my work. Because the surfaces of my work do often shift and follow the perspective of the viewer, there is a perceptual movement that coincides with a person’s physical movement within the gallery space.”
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Her previous work mimics nature using synthetic, everyday materials. Sculpturally they resemble topographical landscapes or biomorphic shapes.
The current exhibition includes two large-scale sculpture pieces, both of which play with the incorporation of identical objects. Donovan is known to often spend years deliberating her method of assembling the particular material, in order to arrange the items in a manner that is both Minimalist and complex.
Acrylic and adhesive
“Tara Donovan” will be on view at PACE on 25th Street through June 26. A concurrent Tara Donovan show will also be on view at PACE Menlo Park through June 30.
