Winkleman Gallery is pleased to present “Between Pain and Boredom,” a new site-specific sculpture and our second solo exhibition by New York artist Thomas Lendvai. In a spectacular new work that literally breaks through the walls of the gallery, Lendvai furthers his exploration of the fundamental questions about sculpture that he examined in his 2005 gallery-sized installation, “A Series of ‘Nows’.”

For “Between Pain and Boredom” (the title of which is taken from Schopenhauer’s description of the extremes of life that we all oscillate between), Lendvai has constructed a series of 16-foot beams of raw White Pine that arc through the gallery. Generated via catenaries, the precise curves of the beams (which break through interior and exterior walls of the gallery to revel both factory-cut ends in places, as well as crudely sawed-off ends in others) are the result of Lendvai’s application of construction technology that pre-dates computers by millennia. Further, whereas a sub-theme of “A Series of ‘Nows’” was its implication of infinity, this new installation unequivocally and unceremoniously comes to an end.

Similar to his 2005 piece, however, about which The New Yorker noted, “These very simple forms create a surprisingly complex sculptural and architectural effect,”1 entering into this new installation offers an unexpectedly elaborate viewing experience, highlighting the relativity of optimum vantage point in viewing sculpture. Because it extends beyond the gallery walls, not only is it impossible to see the entire work all at once, but also one’s own height complicates where one must stand to experience the formal qualities of the piece. Viewing the main section of the work with other people in the gallery makes for a peculiar sociological experience as well, as one is often able to see only the bottom or top half of other viewers.

Thomas Lendvai received his BF from SUNY Stony Brook, NY, in 1998 and his MFA in sculpture from the School of Visual Arts in 2002. He has exhibited widely in the United States and in Japan. His work has been reviewed in The New Yorker, The Brooklyn Rail, and on artnet.com.