Sculpture of a Different Sort

Over the years, Ireland’s art has taken many forms, ranging from hand-sized pieces to works as large as a house. He built 65 Capp Street (1979–82), a sculpture/house that focused on the transitory nature of light. He has poured liquid cement down a flight of stairs and once salvaged huge slabs of concrete debris from a landfill to create a contemporary archaeological ruin. As these examples reveal, Ireland is fascinated by taking something mundane and creating a situation where it assumes a new identity.

Ireland also favors working with chairs. Sometimes he focuses on ordinary chairs; at other times he constructs them larger than life. With their tantalizing resemblance to sculpture, chairs allow Ireland to challenge our way of categorizing what is and is not art.

In the large chair created for this exhibition, Ireland has incorporated a reading room for visitors to study books and learn about his art. Upon entering the chair, viewers literally become part of the artwork and activate it by their presence. Here is a perfect example where art and life are fully merged.