Richard Nonas's Anthropological Sculptures at Fergus McCaffrey's New Chelsea Space

Fergus McCaffrey Gallery debuted its Chelsea location with a Richard Nonas exhibition from September 10 to October 25, 2014, at 514 West 26th Street in New York City. The show featured thirty-three works across two floors of a former printing plant, where rough, dark sculptures contrasted with white renovated walls. Nonas's background as a field anthropologist informs his minimal pieces, which challenge viewers to question whether they are art objects or artifacts. Key works included Skid (2014), a floor installation of nine steel T-shaped pieces, and Deadfall (1975), a gunmetal steel floor work near a corner. The second floor displayed sixteen pieces, such as Steel Drawing (1988) and Fist Series (2014). Nonas's style draws comparisons to Richard Serra and Joel Shapiro, reflecting influences from 1970s Soho industrial spaces. His sculptures emphasize cultural ambiguity and physical reality, described as urban earthworks that provoke questions about object collection without offering definitive answers.