Lincoln, Massachusetts
deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum
Is it possible for an exhibition that includes blocks of cast cement to be too subtle? In her retrospective “How Deep Is Your,” Julianne Swartz worked primarily with gossamer, mirrors, sound, clockworks, and magnets, in addition to cement. It was not an installation for the hurried visitor, nor for the hard of hearing or for those with difficulty seeing. Some of the works were almost invisible and/or inaudible. Yet close attention revealed an art of audacity, inventiveness, and wit. Entering the deCordova, one had the option of ascending the stairs or using the elevator, which offered two extremely varied introductions to Swartz’s show. A sky-blue pipe placed overhead ran up the stairs—but unless you had a coat to hang up, you might not have discovered that the pipe originated behind a door, opened just enough to allow a glimpse of Storagescape, a funhouse mirror reflecting red and blue disco lights and red machinery of unknown purpose. Swartz’s challenges to the senses trumped visual aesthetics at every turn. …see the entire review in the print version of January/February’s Sculpture magazine.
