NEW YORK—A Martin Luther King Jr. street sign encapsulated in a glass contraption trimmed with some kind of curly silver rope? Considering that a buoy is defined as an anchored float that warns of hazards, provides mooring and has the capacity to keep others afloat, “King Buoy” by Nari Ward makes complete sense. The unusual mixed-media interpretation of the civil rights leader is a part of Lehmann Maupin’s “I Followed You Into the Water” exhibit. According to the gallery, “Both evocative poetic device and visceral physical reality, water inspires an incredible depth and range of feeling.” The group show features 11 artists including Ward, whose works explore the powerful attraction humans have to water.
“I Followed You Into the Water” is on view at the gallery’s Chelsea space from July 10 to Aug. 17, 2012.
All photos © by Arts Observer
“King Buoy,” 2010 (aluminum shade cloth, reflectors, wood, glass, bell, reflective street name sign).
Installation view of “King Buoy.”