Nicelle Beauchene Gallery is pleased to announce Cosmic Collisions, a new exhibition of sculpture by Valerie Hegarty.

For this exhibition, Hegarty expands her dialogue between American master paintings and catalytic events by drawing upon a broad range of influences to include the sublime, quantum physics, alchemy, origami, abstract expressionism and imagery produced from the Hubble telescope. As in works past, Hegarty reconfigures the paradigms of American painting through interventions that appear to be the result of natural events. With works that recall Rothko, LeWitt and Pollock, Cosmic Collisions pushes the parameters of such events, to suggest the effects of the quantum mechanics of space on these iconic works, creating almost petrified relics.

Curving off the gallery wall, Starry Rothko appears nearly singed beyond recognition, with the implied heat or fire causing it to crumple up on itself. Shaped after an explosion in space seen from the Hubble telescope, Starry Rothko’s canvas surface seems to be tearing away, revealing a glimpse of the cosmos with burn holes that mock the twinkling of stars. Here, Hegarty attempts to literally transform the atmospheric painting of Rothko into pure atmosphere, trying to catch the pivotal moment before the piece falls to the ground in a pile of ashes.

In Space Cubes, Hegarty measures the interiors of Sol LeWitt’s open cubes (1’x1’x1’) and creates her own blocks of space from compacted paper. Toying with traditional constructs of two- and three- dimensionality, Hegarty’s molded paper depicts ephemeral images from the Hubble telescope. These chunks of ‘space,’ stacked in a LeWitt building block formation, start to unfurl as the cubes get higher in their configuration. While referencing LeWitt’s ideas of form and their relationship to philosophical and mathematical concepts, Hegarty’s representations of the sublime nod to the elements of chance, irrationality and perception that inspired the creation of such scientific systems.

Valerie Hegarty received her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2002. She has shown internationally including solo shows at Guild & Greyshkul, New York; MUSEUM 52, London; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; and CTRL Gallery, Houston. Additionally, she has been included in group exhibitions at the Depart Foundation, Rome; The Drawing Center, New York and White Columns, New York. Her work is currently on view at the Brooklyn Museum as part of their permanent collection and at the Highline as part of their public art program. Hegarty lives and works in Brooklyn.

VIDEO LOUNGE:: Shannon Plumb, ‘Olympics (Track and Field),’ 2005

Inspired by the stoic, silent comedy of Buster Keaton and Leni Riefenstahl’s 1938 documentary Olympia, Olympics (Track and Field) follows a group of aspiring athletes through their Olympic events. Relying on spontaneity and character traits, Plumb presents the humor in going for the gold.

Total running time: 18 minutes.