‘Sculpture And Cosmology’ Opens At

 Throckmorton Fine Art May 15

 

They Never sent photo, run with 18pt head!!

 

2 cuts requested e-m 4-24

MUST RUN 5/16

‘SCULPTURE AND COSMOLOGY’ AT THROCKMORTON FINE ART MAY 15 w/O cuts

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NEW YORK CITY — Throckmorton Fine Art will present “Sculpture and Cosmology in Ancient Guerrero” on view May 15–July 3.

Famed British sculptor Henry Moore collected little-known stone figures from pre-Columbian Mexico, placing them on his tables and windowsills. He said, in fact, that these figures had a significant influence on his own work. The figures are from a provincial culture called Mezcala.

Their highly-stylized form has led them to be compared to Cycladic figures. Moore was not alone in collecting Mezcala — here in New York the enigmatic figures were paired with Abstract Expressionist paintings in the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s. It was an era when aesthetic tastes were expansive.

This exhibition presents a large assemblage of Mezcala figures, temples and masks, all laboriously carved in hard stone. These works of ancient art are not only the legacy of an overlooked, pre-Columbian culture, but also of an earlier generation of art patrons and collectors, whose broad-minded tastes also bequeathed Mark Rothko and Franz Kline.

Mezcala stone sculpture has an enduring appeal. The abstraction of  the human figure, the human face and the human dwelling is universal, cutting across civilizations and epochs. The sculpture invites contemplation: although the stone is cold and hard, it suggests community and the continuity of life.

An extensively illustrated hardcover catalog ($85) compliments the exhibition.

The gallery is at 145 East Street. For more information, www.throckmorton-nyc.com or 212-223-1059.