New York
Simon Preston
Michelle Lopez’s recent show, which featured works exploring the history of contemporary American sculpture, was clearly influenced by the late John McCracken and John Chamberlain. Educated in literature and art history at Barnard College in New York, Lopez is perhaps unusual in her sensitivity to this narrative. Her work begins with forms that echo but do not exactly imitate McCracken’s acutely simple, exquisitely finished planks and Chamberlain’s brilliantly colored, crushed steel automobile parts. This show represented a major departure for Lopez, who is probably best known for Boy (1999), a Honda car covered with form-fitting leather. Her new works speak to issues of influence and creativity, paying homage to two outstanding American artists while nodding to skateboard culture in the “Your Board” series. …see the entire review in the print version of October’s Sculpture magazine.
