Josepha Gasch-Muche, 02.10.06, 2006. Graphite on glass/wood panel. H 31 1/2, W 32 1/2, D 8 in. $34,500. courtesy: heller gallery
Among the works exhibited at New York City’s Heller Gallery at its booth at SOFA CHICAGO were three works by Josepha Gasch-Muche that are part of her “Mutable Materiality” exhibit on display at the Meatpacking District gallery until November 12th. Almost immediately, the piece titled 7.4.2011 (2011) was put on hold during the Thursday night preview. The sale of the piece was confirmed Saturday for $39,500.
“Someone should put red tape on the floor so people don’t get so close,” suggested a nervous viewer who admired the work but worried about the safety hazard. The gleaming shards of transparent glass were arranged in a circular form on a wood panel. From afar, the piece looked velvety and very stroke-able but Gasch-Muche’s interest in playing with light and the perception of her jarring pieces caused SOFA attendees to stop and look twice.
Accompanying the sold piece was another work with transparent glass shards as well as 02.10.06 which consisted of glass entirely covered with graphite also arranged in a circular shape on a wood panel. The work was anything but gleaming; its coarse appearance, compared to the accompanying works, drove home Gasch-Muche’s intentions in her experiments with glass and its interaction (or lack of interaction) with light.
—Diana Buendia
