Helen Marten solo at Sadie Coles: the backstage of a visual itinerary

 

Information runs fast on the web, and sometimes free, also in the instance of the current Helen Marten’s solo show. So, even if we are not in London at the moment, and we have been waiting for two days for Sadie Coles’s staff to send us the official images, a Tumblr user helped us with an extraordinary photo set describing the making of a couple of the most iconic pieces on show.

 

As demonstrated by the wordy press release provided by the gallery, as well as by the text that introduced Marten solo show at the Kunsthalle Zurich in 2012, it is very hard indeed to write about her lavish formal language. In her case probably the best thing a viewer can do is just to listen carefully to his own feelings and enjoy the chemical pleasure of sight, as he would do with installations by artists such as Franz Ackermann, Katharina Grosse or even Carol Bove.

 

In order to help this experience we would therefore suggest a double approach. At first try to force yourself to envision the total of the works on display and grasp the structure. Then change the focus and look at the details. They will definitely seem to be more independent if considered part of such a whole. After all, she is always representing a visual intinerary.

February 5, 2014