Fred Sandback

Cardi Gallery Milan is delighted to present a solo exhibition of sculptures and drawings by Fred Sandback. The exhibition is organized in collaboration with the Estate of Fred Sandback; it is accompanied by a fully-illustrated catalogue with an essay by Germano Celant.

Eight sculptures are displayed at Cardi Gallery, Milan, along with a large selection of drawings and photostats that present the evolution of the artist’s investigation of space.

The American artist Fred Sandback (1943–2003) worked with materials including metal, elastic cord and, later, acrylic yarn to delineate or bifurcate three-dimensional space, creating room-filling and volumetric forms. Using these most minimal of means allowed him “to play with something existing and not existing at the same time.”[1]

By stretching strands of yarn to create geometric figures, Sandback’s near intangible objects create precise and subtle delineations of planes and architectural volumes. Despite the sculpture’s strong relationship to the surrounding architecture and the artist’s commitment to the practice of drawing, he became known primarily as a sculptor. Sandback was also influential in Minimal and Conceptual Art, and for contemporary sculptors and installation artists.

Born in Bronxville, New York in 1943, Sandback attended Yale University, studying philosophy (BA, 1966), and Sculpture (MFA, 1969). His solo museum exhibitions include Museum Haus Lange, Krefeld, 1969; Kunsthalle Bern, 1973; and the Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1978; recent exhibitions include Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, Vaduz, Liechtenstein (2005, and tour); Whitechapel Gallery, London, (2011); Kunstmuseum Winterthur, Switzerland (2014, and tour). Group exhibitions include Conceptual Art, Arte Povera, Land Art, Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna, Turin (1970); documenta 6, Kassel (1977); Biennale di Venezia (Venice), 2007; When Attitudes Became Form: Bern 1969/Venice 2013, Fondazione Prada, Ca’ Corner della Regina, Venice (2013). Sandback’s work is on permanent display at Dia:Beacon, NY, USA. A complete exhibition history and bibliography is available online at fredsandbackarchive.org.

[1] Sandback, Remarks on My Sculpture, 1966–86, fredsandbackarchive.org/atxt_1986remarks.html