Black holes and spaceship

Lee Bontecou at the MOMA fills an entire room with three sculptures and a dozen of works on paper. This is the latest exhibition of the artist titled: "Lee Bontecou: All Freedom in Every Sense" which covers 30 years of the artist's career.

The room is centered around a mobile which occupies most of the space with its moving shadows.

The wall sculptures, which became the artist's signature in the 50s are made of steel and canvas taken from discarded conveyor belts. They are ominous with this black hole. The works are untitled to leave the imagination of the viewer wander.

These works represent the post-war period of the artist, when using discarded material was still a novelty.

The mobile (1980-1998) took 18 years to complete. It looks maybe like a vessel from outer space, some alien composition but contrary to the wall sculptures dark and threatening, it came from a happy fairy tale. I found it very decorative, elegant but with a message somewhat weaker.

Overall the exhibition did not meet my expectations, too few works were displayed to represent the artist. An overview of her works is available in this article.

photographs by the author