Utopia

Perched on this eccentric, seafoam-green form are two found objects: a piece of pyrite, commonly known as “fool’s gold,” and a ceramic figurine. This odd juxtaposition is consistent with Rachel Harrison’s other sculptural works, which often unite found objects and abstract painted forms into surprising arrangements that defy easy interpretation. In Harrison’s own words, she seeks to create “shapes that can’t be described.”From one angle, the ceramic figurine appears to behold the sculpture as an impossibly high mountain. This vignette is an art-historical reference to many 19th-century paintings of men surveying the sublime of the wilderness, backs turned to the viewer. Yet, from a different angle, the majesty observed turns out to be worthless fool’s gold. The push-and-pull of contradictory ideas in Harrison’s work is further reinforced by her decision to rest the painted sculpture on caster wheels. For Harrison, meaning, like medium, is on the move.