Serra and Rondinone: Sculptural Gravity in Chelsea

In spring 2013, two exhibitions in Chelsea offered a counterpoint to Jeff Koons's blockbuster multi-gallery show. At David Zwirner, Richard Serra presented early works from 1966 to 1971, before his signature Corten steel plates. The show included a room with scattered industrial materials—lead, steel, wood—and a second room tracing his progression to large-scale sculptures. A sign noted that steel plates leaned only by gravity, evoking precarious balance. Early films showed Serra interacting with materials. At Barbara Gladstone, Ugo Rondinone's 'Soul' series featured roughly carved blue stone sculptures, evoking megalithic cairns. Under dim light, the gallery felt like a gathering of rudimentary, armless figures. Both artists emphasize material essence—gravity, mass, space—but differ: Serra is anti-metaphorical, focusing on industrial materials; Rondinone seeks the soul of stone, referencing ancient civilizations. Despite differences, their reductive aesthetics recall sculpture's integrity and truth. Rondinone also exhibited sculptures at Rockefeller Center.