Rob Wynne (American, born 1950). Installation view of EXTRA LIFE, 2018. Poured and mirrored glass, 160 x 300 in. (406.4 x 762 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Gavlak, Los Angeles/Palm Beach. (Photo: Jonathan Dorado, Brooklyn Museum)
Rob Wynne (American, born 1950). Installation view of EXTRA LIFE, 2018. Poured and mirrored glass, 160 x 300 in. (406.4 x 762 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Gavlak, Los Angeles/Palm Beach. (Photo: Jonathan Dorado, Brooklyn Museum)
Rob Wynne (American, born 1950). Rob Wynne: FLOAT, installation view of MASQUERADE, 2014. Poured glass, 18 x 53 in. (45.7 x 134.6 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Gavlak, Los Angeles/Palm Beach. (Photo: Jonathan Dorado, Brooklyn Museum)
Rob Wynne (American, born 1950). Rob Wynne: FLOAT, installation view of BLAZE, 2018. Poured and mirrored glass, 107 × 67 in. (271.8 x 170.2 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Gavlak, Los Angeles/Palm Beach. (Photo: Rob Wynne Studio)
Rob Wynne (American, born 1950). Rob Wynne: FLOAT, installation view of !, 2017. Poured and mirrored glass, 27 x 5 in. (68.6 x 12.7 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Gavlak, Los Angeles/Palm Beach. (Photo: Rob Wynne Studio)
Rob Wynne (American, born 1950). Rob Wynne: FLOAT, installation view of ALL THE WORLDLY POSSESIONS OF THE PIED PIPER, 2018. Poured and mirrored glass, 102 x 50 in. (259.1 x 127 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Gavlak, Los Angeles/Palm Beach. (Photo: Rob Wynne Studio)
Rob Wynne (American, born 1950). Rob Wynne: FLOAT, installation view of FLY, 2008. Cast aluminum, 5 x 11 x 19 in. (12.7 x 27.9 x 48.3 cm). Courtesy of Nathalie Karg/Cumulus Studios, New York. (Photo: Jonathan Dorado, Brooklyn Museum)
Rob Wynne (American, born 1950). Rob Wynne: FLOAT, installation view of THE MOON VIEWERS, 2018. Poured and mirrored glass, 116 x 80 in. (294.6 x 203.2 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Gavlak, Los Angeles/Palm Beach. (Photo: Jonathan Dorado, Brooklyn Museum)
Rob Wynne: FLOAT
June 6, 2018–March 3, 2019
New York–based artist Rob Wynne (born 1950) works in a variety of mediums, ranging from hand-embroidered paintings and collage to sculpture and digital photography, but at heart he is an alchemist. In recent years he has experimented increasingly with molten glass, using hand-poured and mirrored glass in a series of large-scale installations, several of which are on display. Also featured are his glass texts, in which the artist borrows words or phrases detached from their original contexts in order to generate cryptic or contradictory meanings.
The title of Wynne’s gallery activation alludes to the ephemeral nature of images. Featuring sixteen works—seemingly floating within the American Art galleries and placed in direct dialogue with selected works from the collection—the installation invites a creatively disruptive aesthetic experience. Wynne’s mirrored glass pieces explore, and slightly skew, how we experience works of art—creating reflective pauses and jolts of surprise that reveal the collection anew.
Rob Wynne: FLOAT is co-curated by Jennifer Y. Chi, former Deputy Director and Chief Curator, and Margarita Karasoulas, Assistant Curator, American Art, Brooklyn Museum.
The exhibition is made possible through the generous support of an anonymous donor. Additional support is provided by the May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation, Inc.
Special thanks to Gavlak, Los Angeles/Palm Beach.