PRESENTATION:Louise Nevelson-Shadow Dance

Deeply engaged with the legacies of Cubism and Constructivism, Louise Nevelson’s artworks have been celebrated for incorporating unexpected combinations of materials and forms. As part of her distinctive approach to abstraction, the artist often explored the visual possibilities of compartmentalized elements and forms, a strategy that recurs across her sculpture, assemblage, collage, and jewelry making. Throughout her career, Nevelson nurtured an artistic practice marked by tireless and vigorous experimentation with materiality, shape, and space.

By Efi Michalarou
Photo: Pace Gallery Archive

The exhibition “Shadow Dance” brings together Louise Nevelson’s iconic monochromatic sculptures in black and white and her lesser-known collages, including several rarely seen masterworks from the 1970s and 1980s. Known for her strict adherence to vertical and horizontal regularity, Nevelson introduced the diagonal during this period, adding an angular energy to her compositions. These late works reflect a bold departure from her earlier conventions, showcasing a fresh vocabulary of robust, minimal forms while maintaining her lifelong focus on materiality, shape, and shadow. Rooted in the traditions of Cubism and Constructivism, Nevelson’s works were celebrated during her lifetime for their innovative use of unexpected materials and forms. Her approach to abstraction was shaped by her exploration of collage, a technique she extended into sculpture through compartmentalized elements and found objects. Nevelson’s art of scavenging—particularly her affinity for wood—was deeply personal, connecting her creative process to her life story. Since her death, Nevelson’s work has undergone significant reappraisal as new art historical dialogues have emerged. Pace Gallery, which first showcased her work in 1961 and has represented her since 1963, played a pivotal role in her career. Early on, Nevelson mentored the young Arne Glimcher, introducing him to key Abstract Expressionist artists and integrating him into the New York art world. In the 1970s and 1980s, Glimcher helped her achieve international acclaim, supporting major public commissions across the globe. The opening at Pace marks its 65th anniversary, “Shadow Dance” highlights Nevelson’s enduring relationship with Glimcher and her significant role in the gallery’s legacy. The exhibition includes two rare white-painted wood sculptures—”Study for the Chapel of the Good Shepherd” and the never-before-exhibited “Dawn’s Light” (both c. 1975)—alongside her signature black-painted works, such as the large-scale freestanding piece “Cascade-Perpendiculars XXX” (1980–1982). Nevelson herself spoke of the interplay between her black and white works as reflections of dawn and dusk, exploring the liminal and transitional moments between day and night. A notable highlight is “Artillery Landscap0”e (ca. 1985), a sculptural installation comprising reclaimed wooden artillery boxes that Nevelson reconstructed and painted black in her final years. This piece harks back to her psychologically charged “Dream House” series of the 1970s while also referencing the origins of its materials—scavenged artillery containers. Nevelson’s transformative use of found materials exemplifies her belief that “wood picked up on the street can turn to gold.” The exhibition also features wall-mounted works from Nevelson’s “Mirror Shadows” series, among the last and most innovative bodies of work she created. Alongside these sculptures, a selection of her collages offers a glimpse into a deeply personal mode of expression that remained largely private during her lifetime. These collages, created simultaneously with her sculptures, extend her investigations of light, shadow, and line, combining materials like metallic foil, sandpaper, cardboard, spray paint, and newspaper. By tearing and recombining fragments of the past, Nevelson’s collages embody an aesthetic of fragmentation and reassembly that animates the spirit of her entire oeuvre.

Photo: Louise Nevelson, Mirror-Shadow VII, 1985, wood painted black, 9′ 9″ x 11′ 7″ x 1′ 9″ (297.2 cm x 353.1 cm x 53.3 cm, © 2019 Estate of Louise Nevelson / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, Courtesy Pace Gallery

Info: Curator: Arne Glimcher,Pace Gallery, 540 West 25th Street, New York, NY, USA, Duration: 17/1-1/3/2023, Days & Hours: Tue-Sat 10:00-18:00, www.pacegallery.com/