Two resin Sabertooth Tiger Skeletons,
silverleaf, monofilament and hardware
Approx. 20 x 15 x 9 feet
Press Release from Mary Boone
On 5 September 2014, Mary Boone Gallery will open at its Fifth Avenue location Semi-Feral, an exhibition of works by E.V. DAY.
The centerpiece of the exhibition is CatFight, a site-specific gravity- defying installation originally conceived during E.V. Day’s residence at Artpace, the Linda Pace Foundation in San Antonio, Texas. The work exemplifies Day’s technique of harnessing and suspending disassembled objects in midair with monofilament. Drawn taut by tension and gravity, these heavy reflective strands slice through space, forming tangible lines of energy that radiate from the sculpture’s components.
Here, the white skeletons of two adult female saber-toothed tigers (the bones cast from ancient remains recovered from the La Brea tar pits in Los Angeles) are strung up as if engaged in battle. Silver leaf accentuates their lethal teeth and claws. Colloquially, a catfight is a fight between women, an association that Day mines to deliver this playful commentary on gender stereotypes. Her feuding felines reflect the animal kingdom’s primal act of “fight" – a power struggle usually over territory or to establish dominance. CatFight, like watching a girl-fight, makes us confront our views toward voyeurism, savagery, and sexual supremacy.
This exhibition was produced in collaboration with Salomon Contemporary, New York, where E.V. Day will also have a solo show opening 18 October through 20 December 2014.
The Mary Boone Gallery exhibition, 745 Fifth Avenue, is on view through 25 October 2014. For further information, please contact Ron Warren at the Gallery, or visit our website www.maryboonegallery.com.