Julian LaVerdiere

Goliath Concussed

April 26 - May 24, 2003
540 West 26th Street

Press Release

Lehmann Maupin is pleased to present GOLIATH CONCUSSED, Julian LaVerdiere's first solo exhibition at the gallery.

Goliath Concussed includes several large sculptures, which exist as revivified architectural artifacts of bygone empires. The Last Cornerstone, a monumental kinetic sculpture of an American eagle, is a replica of the last surviving cornerstone of the twenty-two that adorned the facade of the late great Pennsylvania Station. This artificial artifact is hung in effigy as the stubborn survivor of the ideological conflict between Empire-style Neo-Classicism and International Style Modernism. A triumvirate of Imperial Dragsters combine the form of Visconti's 1861 Tomb for Napoleon Bonaparte and the infamous Lamborghini LM002, the first luxury proto-military SUV. The Lantern ShuttleCock is, from the exterior, an ominous blend of a Neo-Classic municipal lantern and an implement of war. However, its illuminated interior reveals a paradox inherent in LaVerdiere's works – the fusing of architectonic bombast with technological mysticism.

Julian LaVerdiere was born in 1971 and raised in New York City. He received a BFA from Cooper Union in 1993, and an MFA from Yale University in 1995. LaVerdiere's work has been exhibited at P.S.1/MoMA, the New Museum, and the Queens Museum in New York. After September 11, 2001, LaVerdiere and collaborator Paul Myoda conceived the Towers of Light temporary memorial with a collaborative team of architects, The Municipal Art Society of New York, and the pubic arts organization Creative Time. LaVerdiere recently had his first solo museum exhibition at MoCA Miami and has a forthcoming solo exhibition at MoCA Cleveland in May 2003.

Press

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Exhibition Works

Lost Cornerstone, 2003 styrene, eurathane, and steel LMG installation: 30' diameter Eagle only: 60" x 60" x 68" LM6562


Lantern Shuttlecock (Black Mihrab), 2003 plastic, MDF, fluorescent light, mirrors 96 x 96 x 24 inches 243.8 x 243.8 x 61 cm LM6569


Imperial Dragster: Napoleon Rebuilt, 2002 light-interference pigment on fiberglass, drag tires 82.5 x 57 x 75 inches 209.6 x 144.8 x 190.5 cm LM5234


Allied Uranium Miners, 2001 Pitch Blend miners lantern encapsulated in reliquary on cenotaph 3 parts, each: 61 x 13 x 13 inches 154.9 x 33 x 33 cm Edition of 3 LM6085


Lantern Shuttlecock (Black Mihrab), 2003 interior detail plastic, MDF, fluorescent light, mirrors 96 x 96 x 24 inches 243.8 x 243.8 x 61 cm LM6569