Gedi Sibony

I decided to focus on the work of Gedi Sibony because his piece at the Midway seemed to make the least sense to me. Cardboard haphazardly glued to wood? I needed an explanation.

Sibony actually had his own show, titled The Science of Imaginary Solutions, at Midway in winter 2007. Some of the pieces in that show resembled the piece I saw, called Remaining. The main materials he works with are carpet, plexiglass, cardboard, wood, and spray paint. He focuses a lot on the use of space and how materials can be used to communicate ideas. In the Imaginary Solutions show he had a piece that was partially blocking a door. This affects the space of the room because it makes the viewer pause and carefully move around it. He also likes to break down his materials and then restore them, which is seen more in pieces like Remaining.

One piece I found that has many similarities to Remaining is That's Tall's Tale. It is made with different materials, tape and plastic, but it has the same look visually. Sibony was actually creating a painting with the square shape of the plastic. He wanted to expose how the work was made, which adds an element of performance to the piece. He also focused greatly on the form and space of the piece, which made me stop to think about it longer. Looking at it without research it appears to be thrown together, but Sibony actually made very calculated decisions about where to place each piece of tape. This can be related back to Remaining because it too looks thrown together, but it must have been carefully thought out. It also uses the idea of creating a painting with a background material (wood) and "paint" (cardboard).

Another piece that represents Sibony well is Side Show, Side Show. It is more about space than material. It consists of two wooden frames leaning against a wall. This establishes a relationship between them because they are touching, and also with the gallery itself. The piece can be looked at both for the space it occupies and the space it does not because the two frames create so much negative area when placed together. They can also act as the form and it's shadow which creates depth in a small space. This creates a warmth for the viewer just by using two simple frames.

Though I couldn't find any information on the piece itself, research on Sibony's other pieces helped me understand Remaining a bit better.


Sources: http://www.midwayart.org/exhibitions/07_01_gedi_sibony/
http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/gedi_sibony.htm?section_name=abstract_america_painting_sculpture