(Extended through April 22)
Formed with Function is conceived as a sequel to Ricco/Maresca’s show titled Chance (December 1991 - January 1992), which was an exploration of the found object as art—an interest of our gallery since the 1980s that continues to this day. In this show, our focus is not so much the classic objet trouvé—that which becomes art by chance—but objects that were created with a functional purpose in mind, and whose aesthetic qualities both enhance and transcend it.
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John Tursi (b. 1961)
Tursi is one of the artists working at The Living Museum, a unique atelier housed in a former kitchen hall at the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens, NY—where artist patients and out-patients work on their oeuvres without constraints. The Living Museum was founded in n 1983 by the late Bolek Greczynski, an artist, and the Hungarian psychologist Dr. Janos Marton, who remains at its helm as director and curator. Tursi works across media to manifest the images that he sees within a book that exists in his mind’s eye.
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FORMED WITH FUNCTION
GALLERY ONE -
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CORRUGATED WOOD PANEL #1, EARLY 20TH CENTURY
Joined wood with original forest-green paint48 x 87 3/4 in. (121.9 x 222.9 cm.)(ArU 325)SOLD -
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INSTALLATION
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JOHN TURSI: NEW WORKS
GALLERY TWO-
Untitled (4:01pm), 2022Ink on paper40 x 26 in. (101.6 x 66 cm.)(JTu2)$7,000
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Untitled (4:29pm), 2022Ink on paper40 x 26 in. (101.6 x 66 cm.)(JTu9)$7,000HOLD
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Untitled (5:06pm), 2022Ink on paper40 x 26 in. (101.6 x 66 cm.)(JTu12)$7,000
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Untitled (1:45pm), 2022Ink on paper40 x 26 in. (101.6 x 66 cm.)(JTu11)$7,000
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INSTALLATION
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One of the last shows that Ricco/Maresca mounted at its Wooster Street location (back in 1997) included Tursi’s large wire sculptures and the drawings of Helen Sadowski—another Living Museum artist. This show was featured in Jessica Yu’s HBO documentary “The Living Museum” (1998).
Roberta Smith of the New York Times wrote in 2002:
“The artist who comes closest to genius status here is John Tursi, whose scroll-like drawings cover the walls of a large double-height gallery. They dazzle.
Using mostly the shapes of triangles, French curves and other drafting tools, Mr. Tursi has devised a vocabulary at once organic and geometric that sustains endless variations. With it, he has created a universe of acrobats engaged in all kinds of intimate acts that remain more engaging for their decorative power than their naughtiness.
These figures evoke the coiled energy and perfection of Indian art -- specifically the erotic intertwinings of temple sculpture and the saturated palette of Indian miniature painting.”
