Thaddeus Mosley: ‘Studio’ at Frieze Masters 2024
The artist’s latest works mark a transition from stone to wood, influenced by both African and European sculptural traditions
The artist’s latest works mark a transition from stone to wood, influenced by both African and European sculptural traditions
‘I’m discovering what I can or cannot do. That idea of self-discovery and of finding out how far I’m willing to go in a certain direction or how long I’m willing to pursue an idea is very important to me’ – Thaddeus Mosley
Thaddeus Mosley’s sculptural improvisations in form and rhythm began in the 1950s, using spare material from building sites and the many local sawmills around Pittsburgh.
His discovery of Dogon, Yoruba and other African sculptural traditions at the local Carnegie Museum of Art in the 1940s, and, later, the work of Constantin Brâncuşi and Isamu Noguchi, became defining forces that fuelled his own conceptual and material journey towards merging the external world with an internal spirit.
To carve his sculptures, Mosley uses only a mallet and chisels, whose varying depths determine how shadows catch the ripples and textural grain of the wooden surfaces. While earlier pieces included carved stone, today Mosley works primarily in wood: cherry, sycamore and walnut. Individual pieces are rarely bigger than two metres, a size that fits in his truck. Later, in the studio, after discovering their varying character and rhythm, the artist stacks and assembles these elements to form composite sculptures of interlocking forms. Grounded yet slightly off-balance, Mosley’s dynamic works emphasize the precarity of the appearance of stability.
Thaddeus Mosley is showing with Karma at Frieze Masters 2024.
About Studio at Frieze Masters 2024
Following its debut in 2023, Studio, curated by Sheena Wagstaff, highlights Frieze Masters’ commitment to living practice in dialogue with historical art. By focusing on artists’ place of making, it reflects the idea of the past informing the present moment of creation in an object for the future.
Studio features ten solo presentations by Beatrice Caracciolo (Paula Cooper Gallery), Isabella Ducrot (Sadie Coles HQ, Galerie Gisela Capitain and Standard [Oslo]), Nathalie Du Pasquier (Pace Gallery), Shirazeh Houshiary (Lisson Gallery), Kim Yun Shin (Lehmann Maupin), Mernet Larsen (James Cohan), Thaddeus Mosley (Karma), Doris Salcedo (White Cube), Nilima Sheikh (Chemould Prescott Road) and Adriana Varejão (Victoria Miro).
Further Information
Frieze London and Frieze Masters, 9 – 13 October 2024, The Regent’s Park.
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Main Image: Thaddeus Mosley in the studio. Courtesy: the artist and Karma. Photo: Jason Schmidt
1 Quotation from Hans Ulrich Obrist, ‘Hans Ulrich Obrist in Conversation with Thaddeus Mosley’, Thaddeus Mosley, Karma Books, New York, 2020.
