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MARY CORSE (b. 1945)

ARTIST BIO INQUIREDOWNLOAD PDF
 
The essential and dramatic declaration “Let there be light” of Genesis is not so far removed from Mary Corse’s recollection of the moment in 1968 when the late afternoon sun electrified the reflective road markings of Malibu as she drove east. In an instant, the glowing asphalt markings provided the oracle she needed to realize she could ‘put light in the painting and not just make a picture of light’. Using the same glass microbeads utilized by road maintenance services, she layers and embeds the prismatic material in bands and geometric configurations creating nuanced glimmering abstract fields which shift as the viewer moves in relationship to the work. Move to one side and dimness brightens to light. Walk back and forth and you might feel a rippling effect from its shimmering, prismatic effects. <br> <br>A photographic image of a Mary Corse microsphere painting is not only a dull representation, but it also misses the point – it is experience dependent art that requires participation to ‘be’. Of course, “Untitled” (1975) defies that one-point static perspective and instead, depends upon a real time, interactive art experience which heightens awareness of the body in space as the viewer experiences shifts of retinal stimulation, sensation and feeling. It is a rare bird. Unusually petite at two-foot square, its design, geometry and color belie her earlier revelation that led to a devotion to her usual reductive palette. Instead, it is a bold statement in sequined color, its center field bounded at the corners by a sparkling red stepped motif that separates it from its starry night sky corner spandrels. It may not include a star motif, but it has the glamour and presence that belongs along Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. The essential and dramatic declaration “Let there be light” of Genesis is not so far removed from Mary Corse’s recollection of the moment in 1968 when the late afternoon sun electrified the reflective road markings of Malibu as she drove east. In an instant, the glowing asphalt markings provided the oracle she needed to realize she could ‘put light in the painting and not just make a picture of light’. Using the same glass microbeads utilized by road maintenance services, she layers and embeds the prismatic material in bands and geometric configurations creating nuanced glimmering abstract fields which shift as the viewer moves in relationship to the work. Move to one side and dimness brightens to light. Walk back and forth and you might feel a rippling effect from its shimmering, prismatic effects. <br> <br>A photographic image of a Mary Corse microsphere painting is not only a dull representation, but it also misses the point – it is experience dependent art that requires participation to ‘be’. Of course, “Untitled” (1975) defies that one-point static perspective and instead, depends upon a real time, interactive art experience which heightens awareness of the body in space as the viewer experiences shifts of retinal stimulation, sensation and feeling. It is a rare bird. Unusually petite at two-foot square, its design, geometry and color belie her earlier revelation that led to a devotion to her usual reductive palette. Instead, it is a bold statement in sequined color, its center field bounded at the corners by a sparkling red stepped motif that separates it from its starry night sky corner spandrels. It may not include a star motif, but it has the glamour and presence that belongs along Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. The essential and dramatic declaration “Let there be light” of Genesis is not so far removed from Mary Corse’s recollection of the moment in 1968 when the late afternoon sun electrified the reflective road markings of Malibu as she drove east. In an instant, the glowing asphalt markings provided the oracle she needed to realize she could ‘put light in the painting and not just make a picture of light’. Using the same glass microbeads utilized by road maintenance services, she layers and embeds the prismatic material in bands and geometric configurations creating nuanced glimmering abstract fields which shift as the viewer moves in relationship to the work. Move to one side and dimness brightens to light. Walk back and forth and you might feel a rippling effect from its shimmering, prismatic effects. <br> <br>A photographic image of a Mary Corse microsphere painting is not only a dull representation, but it also misses the point – it is experience dependent art that requires participation to ‘be’. Of course, “Untitled” (1975) defies that one-point static perspective and instead, depends upon a real time, interactive art experience which heightens awareness of the body in space as the viewer experiences shifts of retinal stimulation, sensation and feeling. It is a rare bird. Unusually petite at two-foot square, its design, geometry and color belie her earlier revelation that led to a devotion to her usual reductive palette. Instead, it is a bold statement in sequined color, its center field bounded at the corners by a sparkling red stepped motif that separates it from its starry night sky corner spandrels. It may not include a star motif, but it has the glamour and presence that belongs along Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. The essential and dramatic declaration “Let there be light” of Genesis is not so far removed from Mary Corse’s recollection of the moment in 1968 when the late afternoon sun electrified the reflective road markings of Malibu as she drove east. In an instant, the glowing asphalt markings provided the oracle she needed to realize she could ‘put light in the painting and not just make a picture of light’. Using the same glass microbeads utilized by road maintenance services, she layers and embeds the prismatic material in bands and geometric configurations creating nuanced glimmering abstract fields which shift as the viewer moves in relationship to the work. Move to one side and dimness brightens to light. Walk back and forth and you might feel a rippling effect from its shimmering, prismatic effects. <br> <br>A photographic image of a Mary Corse microsphere painting is not only a dull representation, but it also misses the point – it is experience dependent art that requires participation to ‘be’. Of course, “Untitled” (1975) defies that one-point static perspective and instead, depends upon a real time, interactive art experience which heightens awareness of the body in space as the viewer experiences shifts of retinal stimulation, sensation and feeling. It is a rare bird. Unusually petite at two-foot square, its design, geometry and color belie her earlier revelation that led to a devotion to her usual reductive palette. Instead, it is a bold statement in sequined color, its center field bounded at the corners by a sparkling red stepped motif that separates it from its starry night sky corner spandrels. It may not include a star motif, but it has the glamour and presence that belongs along Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. The essential and dramatic declaration “Let there be light” of Genesis is not so far removed from Mary Corse’s recollection of the moment in 1968 when the late afternoon sun electrified the reflective road markings of Malibu as she drove east. In an instant, the glowing asphalt markings provided the oracle she needed to realize she could ‘put light in the painting and not just make a picture of light’. Using the same glass microbeads utilized by road maintenance services, she layers and embeds the prismatic material in bands and geometric configurations creating nuanced glimmering abstract fields which shift as the viewer moves in relationship to the work. Move to one side and dimness brightens to light. Walk back and forth and you might feel a rippling effect from its shimmering, prismatic effects. <br> <br>A photographic image of a Mary Corse microsphere painting is not only a dull representation, but it also misses the point – it is experience dependent art that requires participation to ‘be’. Of course, “Untitled” (1975) defies that one-point static perspective and instead, depends upon a real time, interactive art experience which heightens awareness of the body in space as the viewer experiences shifts of retinal stimulation, sensation and feeling. It is a rare bird. Unusually petite at two-foot square, its design, geometry and color belie her earlier revelation that led to a devotion to her usual reductive palette. Instead, it is a bold statement in sequined color, its center field bounded at the corners by a sparkling red stepped motif that separates it from its starry night sky corner spandrels. It may not include a star motif, but it has the glamour and presence that belongs along Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. The essential and dramatic declaration “Let there be light” of Genesis is not so far removed from Mary Corse’s recollection of the moment in 1968 when the late afternoon sun electrified the reflective road markings of Malibu as she drove east. In an instant, the glowing asphalt markings provided the oracle she needed to realize she could ‘put light in the painting and not just make a picture of light’. Using the same glass microbeads utilized by road maintenance services, she layers and embeds the prismatic material in bands and geometric configurations creating nuanced glimmering abstract fields which shift as the viewer moves in relationship to the work. Move to one side and dimness brightens to light. Walk back and forth and you might feel a rippling effect from its shimmering, prismatic effects. <br> <br>A photographic image of a Mary Corse microsphere painting is not only a dull representation, but it also misses the point – it is experience dependent art that requires participation to ‘be’. Of course, “Untitled” (1975) defies that one-point static perspective and instead, depends upon a real time, interactive art experience which heightens awareness of the body in space as the viewer experiences shifts of retinal stimulation, sensation and feeling. It is a rare bird. Unusually petite at two-foot square, its design, geometry and color belie her earlier revelation that led to a devotion to her usual reductive palette. Instead, it is a bold statement in sequined color, its center field bounded at the corners by a sparkling red stepped motif that separates it from its starry night sky corner spandrels. It may not include a star motif, but it has the glamour and presence that belongs along Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. The essential and dramatic declaration “Let there be light” of Genesis is not so far removed from Mary Corse’s recollection of the moment in 1968 when the late afternoon sun electrified the reflective road markings of Malibu as she drove east. In an instant, the glowing asphalt markings provided the oracle she needed to realize she could ‘put light in the painting and not just make a picture of light’. Using the same glass microbeads utilized by road maintenance services, she layers and embeds the prismatic material in bands and geometric configurations creating nuanced glimmering abstract fields which shift as the viewer moves in relationship to the work. Move to one side and dimness brightens to light. Walk back and forth and you might feel a rippling effect from its shimmering, prismatic effects. <br> <br>A photographic image of a Mary Corse microsphere painting is not only a dull representation, but it also misses the point – it is experience dependent art that requires participation to ‘be’. Of course, “Untitled” (1975) defies that one-point static perspective and instead, depends upon a real time, interactive art experience which heightens awareness of the body in space as the viewer experiences shifts of retinal stimulation, sensation and feeling. It is a rare bird. Unusually petite at two-foot square, its design, geometry and color belie her earlier revelation that led to a devotion to her usual reductive palette. Instead, it is a bold statement in sequined color, its center field bounded at the corners by a sparkling red stepped motif that separates it from its starry night sky corner spandrels. It may not include a star motif, but it has the glamour and presence that belongs along Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. The essential and dramatic declaration “Let there be light” of Genesis is not so far removed from Mary Corse’s recollection of the moment in 1968 when the late afternoon sun electrified the reflective road markings of Malibu as she drove east. In an instant, the glowing asphalt markings provided the oracle she needed to realize she could ‘put light in the painting and not just make a picture of light’. Using the same glass microbeads utilized by road maintenance services, she layers and embeds the prismatic material in bands and geometric configurations creating nuanced glimmering abstract fields which shift as the viewer moves in relationship to the work. Move to one side and dimness brightens to light. Walk back and forth and you might feel a rippling effect from its shimmering, prismatic effects. <br> <br>A photographic image of a Mary Corse microsphere painting is not only a dull representation, but it also misses the point – it is experience dependent art that requires participation to ‘be’. Of course, “Untitled” (1975) defies that one-point static perspective and instead, depends upon a real time, interactive art experience which heightens awareness of the body in space as the viewer experiences shifts of retinal stimulation, sensation and feeling. It is a rare bird. Unusually petite at two-foot square, its design, geometry and color belie her earlier revelation that led to a devotion to her usual reductive palette. Instead, it is a bold statement in sequined color, its center field bounded at the corners by a sparkling red stepped motif that separates it from its starry night sky corner spandrels. It may not include a star motif, but it has the glamour and presence that belongs along Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. The essential and dramatic declaration “Let there be light” of Genesis is not so far removed from Mary Corse’s recollection of the moment in 1968 when the late afternoon sun electrified the reflective road markings of Malibu as she drove east. In an instant, the glowing asphalt markings provided the oracle she needed to realize she could ‘put light in the painting and not just make a picture of light’. Using the same glass microbeads utilized by road maintenance services, she layers and embeds the prismatic material in bands and geometric configurations creating nuanced glimmering abstract fields which shift as the viewer moves in relationship to the work. Move to one side and dimness brightens to light. Walk back and forth and you might feel a rippling effect from its shimmering, prismatic effects. <br> <br>A photographic image of a Mary Corse microsphere painting is not only a dull representation, but it also misses the point – it is experience dependent art that requires participation to ‘be’. Of course, “Untitled” (1975) defies that one-point static perspective and instead, depends upon a real time, interactive art experience which heightens awareness of the body in space as the viewer experiences shifts of retinal stimulation, sensation and feeling. It is a rare bird. Unusually petite at two-foot square, its design, geometry and color belie her earlier revelation that led to a devotion to her usual reductive palette. Instead, it is a bold statement in sequined color, its center field bounded at the corners by a sparkling red stepped motif that separates it from its starry night sky corner spandrels. It may not include a star motif, but it has the glamour and presence that belongs along Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.
Untitled197524 x 24 in. acrylic and diamond dust on canvas
Provenance
Private Collection, gift of the artist, 1975
Christie's New York: Friday, September 27, 2019, lot 00104
Private Collection
 

95,000

The essential and dramatic declaration “Let there be light” of Genesis is not so far removed from Mary Corse’s recollection of the moment in 1968 when the late afternoon sun electrified the reflective road markings of Malibu as she drove east. In an instant, the glowing asphalt markings provided the oracle she needed to realize she could ‘put light in the painting and not just make a picture of light’. Using the same glass microbeads utilized by road maintenance services, she layers and embeds the prismatic material in bands and geometric configurations creating nuanced glimmering abstract fields which shift as the viewer moves in relationship to the work. Move to one side and dimness brightens to light. Walk back and forth and you might feel a rippling effect from its shimmering, prismatic effects.

A photographic image of a Mary Corse microsphere painting is not only a dull representation, but it also misses the point – it is experience dependent art that requires participation to ‘be’. Of course, “Untitled” (1975) defies that one-point static perspective and instead, depends upon a real time, interactive art experience which heightens awareness of the body in space as the viewer experiences shifts of retinal stimulation, sensation and feeling. It is a rare bird. Unusually petite at two-foot square, its design, geometry and color belie her earlier revelation that led to a devotion to her usual reductive palette. Instead, it is a bold statement in sequined color, its center field bounded at the corners by a sparkling red stepped motif that separates it from its starry night sky corner spandrels. It may not include a star motif, but it has the glamour and presence that belongs along Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.
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