art basel untitled: stage by phyllida barlow

‘untitled: stage’ by phyllida barlow, 2011 timber, polystyrene, paint 1297/8 x 5311/2 x 1967/8 inches; 330 x 1350 x 510 cm image © designboom

london artist phyllida barlow has displayed with gallery hauser & wirth of zurich, switzerland her massive post-industrial, post-modern sculpture, ‘untitled: stage’ for art basel 2012. the structure, comprised of red, scale-like and jagged segments of wood atop timber poles of various heights, growing from a point nearly touching the floor to towering above visitors to the installation on its opposite side. the anti-monumental artwork measures 1297⁄8 x 5311⁄2 x 1967⁄8 inches (330 x 1350 x 510 cm) in total– an experimental re-contextualization of common materials within the exhibition space. the large-scale artwork, formed from inexpensive materials is reminiscent of an abstract structure one might find in an urban environment as an assemblage of seemingly average objects, yet, barlow reconfigures these material to recall the form of a conspicuous platform in the center of the brightly lit room.

a viewpoint from below the stage’s surface image © designboom

a closer look reveals a sort of netted material atop the wooden slabs image © designboom

the stage’s support system peaks through the platform’s surface image © designboom

a view picturing the gradual rise of the red surface from one lowered side to the other heightened segment image © designboom