Ric

har

d S

erra

TRAJE

CTORY

Richard SerraTRAJECTORY

Alan Cristea Gallery

The Alan Cristea Gallery at31&34 Cork St. London W1S 3NUTelephone +44(0)20 7439 1866Facsimile +44(0)20 7439 1874Email: info@alancristea.comWebsite: www.alancristea.comMonday–Friday 10am–5.30pm

Saturdays 11am–2pm

Richard SerraTRAJECTORY

Alan Cristea Gallery

11 September – 8 October 2013

‘Weight is a value for me, not that it is any more compelling than lightness, but I simply know more

about weight than lightness and therefore I have more to say about it, more to say about the balancing of

weight, the diminishing of weight, the addition and subtraction of weight, the concentration of weight,

the rigging of weight, the propping of weight, the placement of weight, the locking of weight, the

psychological effects of weight, the disorientation of weight, the disequilibrium of weight, the rotation

of weight, the movement of weight, the directionality of weight, the shape of weight....’

Richard Serra, Bochum, 1988

Richard Serra is an artist well known for his monumental sculpture which explores and defiesconcepts of weight, balance and gravity. Since the 1970s prints and drawings have also been animportant part of his practice. This exhibition focuses on three groups of etchings from thepast ten years. Extension and Trajectory are both part of the Arc of the Curve series from 2004,and examine movement through space and the curve of a line, from broad, sweeping gesturesto slight bends and turns. Some lean dramatically; others stoop. In contrast, Ballast, from 2011,is a series all about weight, stability and control; the black mass sits at the bottom of the sheet,revealing a small glimpse of white paper at the top. These prints are serious and minimal andsculptural – a closer look at their surface reveals a highly pitted, three-dimensional, intagliolandscape.

In order to achieve the physical texture which characterises these etchings, a ‘found’ templatein the form of an exterior stucco wall was used. Frosted mylar was taped to the wall and thenlithographic rubbing ink was applied. The resulting coarse, pitted texture was then transferredto a copper plate using a light sensitive emulsion, after which the plate was subjected to thetraditional acid etching process.

Serra’s prints and drawings often relate to his sculpture, but are not preparatory; rather theycome after the sculpture has been made. Ballast relates to a large public commission he madefor the Mission Bay campus of UCSF, in San Francisco, the town on his birth. We have alsoincluded a fourth series of five etchings, Promenade Notebook Drawings from 2009, in theexhibition. These make reference to an installation of five immense steel slabs, each 17 metreshigh, entitled Promenade, which Serra made for Monumenta at the Grand Palais in Paris, in 2008.

This is the first exhibition in the UK devoted to Richard Serra’s prints. These etchingsdemonstrate that he doesn’t always need to use heavy sculptural material such as steel toconvey a sense of weight and gravity. The simplicity of black ink on paper does just as well.

Helen Waters, 2013

Extensions

Extension #1

Extension #2

Extension #3

Trajectories

Trajectory #1

Trajectory #2

Trajectory #3

Trajectory #4

Promenade

I

II

III

IV

V

Ballast

Ballast 1

Ballast 2

Ballast 3

Documentation

Extension #1Extension #2Extension #32004A series of three etchings on 850 gsm white satin finishpaper, milled by Somerset, Legion, and FabrianoSigned ‘R Serra’ and dated ‘04’ in pencil rectoPaper 118.2 x 88.1 cm (each)Editions of 58, plus 12 artist’s proofs

Trajectory #1Trajectory #2Trajectory #3Trajectory #42004A series of four etchings on 850 gsm white satin finishpaper, milled by Somerset, Legion, and FabrianoSigned ‘R Serra’ and dated ‘04’ in pencil rectoPaper 168.4 x 120.6 cm (each)Editions of 48, plus 10 artist’s proofs

Promenade Notebook Drawing IPromenade Notebook Drawing IIPromenade Notebook Drawing IIIPromenade Notebook Drawing IVPromenade Notebook Drawing V2009A series of five etchings on Somerset Velvet Soft White300gsm paperSigned ‘R Serra’ and dated ‘09’ in pencil rectoPaper 40.0 x 29.7 cm (each)Editions of 50, plus 14 artist’s proofs

Ballast IBallast IIBallast III2011A series of three etchings on Hahnemühle CopperplateWarm White 300gsm paperSigned ‘R Serra’ and dated ‘2011’ in pencil versoI Paper 91.3 x 41.7 cmII Paper 76.2 x 59.1 cmIII Paper 91.5 x 66.8 cmEditions of 45, plus 12 artist’s proofs

All the above are printed and published by Gemini G.E.L.LLC, Los Angeles

With special thanks to Gemini G.E.L.LLC for all their helpin putting this exhibition together.

Published by Alan Cristea Gallery on the occasion of the exhibition TRAJECTORY 11 September – 8 October 2013at 34 Cork Street, London

Introduction © Alan Cristea Gallery, London 2013 Catalogue © Alan Cristea Gallery, London 2013Images © Richard Serra and Gemini G.E.L. LLC /ARS, New York

Produced by fandg.co.ukInstallation photography by Peter White, FXPPhotography, London

All rights reserved. No part of this book may bereproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher

ISBN 978-0-9575085-0-7

Alan

Crist

ea G

allery