Alix Pearlstein

We Shall Run (land animals, composition) 

@ Nada House

Governor's Island, May -August, 2021



Catbox Contemporary is proud to present a selection of new sculptures by artist, Alix Pearlstein. The installation, titled, We Shall Run (large land animals, composition), 2021, is comprised of nineteen animal-objects, and remnants of a cat-tree.

Arranged by typological groupings between two platforms, the black stoneware sculptures (part of an ongoing series), resemble bulls, dinosaurs and hybrid beasts. Together, they encompass a personal etymology of shape, texture and type.

The work takes its name from Yvonne Rainer’s 1963 dance, which employed her use of ‘herds’ as a repeated configuration. A long-time reference for Pearlstein, the phrase We Shall Run, a kind of rallying cry, conveys a defiant optimism. Here, it proposes an intention and action for these stationary figures - the presumptive ‘we’ an opportunity to identify.

In keeping with Catbox Contemporary’s tradition, Pearlstein responds to the cat-tree structure by isolating its essential components – a square and a rectangle covered in gray faux-fur – as an analogous geometric arrangement. Placed on the wall facing the sculptures, the plushy-suprematist composition bookends the installation.

Passage of time is evident everywhere at NADA House. The peeling plaster, chipped paint and exposed lath show the deterioration and history of the site on Governors Island, offering a loaded setting for these works. Pearlstein’s sculptures engage freely with new forms, while evoking an imagined prehistory.

BIO: Alix Pearlstein's work in video, performance, installation and sculpture has been widely exhibited. Selected solo exhibitions include ASHES/ASHES, NYC, UK Art Museum, Lexington KY; Upfor Gallery, Portland OR; On Stellar Rays, NYC; deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln, MA; Ballroom Marfa, Texas; Atlanta Contemporary Art Center; CAM, St. Louis; The Kitchen, NYC and MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge MA. Performances have been seen at Aspen Art Museum, Art Basel, Miami and The Park Avenue Armory, NYC. Selected group exhibitions include FRONT Triennial, Cleveland, OH; Whitechapel, London; ParaSite, Hong Kong; The New Museum, NYC; INOVA, Milwaukee; MoBY-Museums of Bat Yam, Israel; Internationale D’Art De Quebec; Annual Exhibition of Visual Art, Ireland; The Whitney Museum, NYC; SMAK, Ghent, Belgium; Biennale de Lyon, France and MoMA, NYC. Pearlstein is a recipient of the Foundation for Contemporary Arts 2011 Grants to Artists Award, serves on the Board of Governors of The Skowhegan School, and is on the faculty of the SVA MFA Program. She lives and works in NYC and Orient, NY.