RICHARD NONAS

P420 is pleased to present the third solo exhibition in the gallery by Richard Nonas (New York 1936 – 2021), the first show after the artist’s death.

Richard Nonas occupies a unique, original position in the field of sculpture, thanks to his profound comprehension of space as a physical and psychological construct. His transition in the late 1960s from anthropology to art proved crucial for his development, leading to an utterly singular approach to sculpture that transcends mere considerations on form.

“Anthropology gave me the doubt – Nonas said – doubt of what is most obvious, doubt of what is most pleasant, doubt of what is most useful and self-serving, doubt of what is obscure and difficult, doubt of what is painful, destructive or useless. Doubt, I mean, of everything. Anthropology gave me the gift of continual doubt. But sculpture forced me to use it.”

Among the first post-minimalist artists, working mainly with simple forms and raw materials like wood, steel and stone, Nonas created works that activate space through subtle interventions and precise placements. His sculptures, often arranged in linear configurations or essential geometric forms, arise from profound investigation of how objects can transform our perception and experience of a place.

Nonas constantly challenged the boundary between object and environment, creating what he defined as ‘charged places’, areas in which the relationship between observer, object and context is intensified and dynamically unstable. Through apparently simple gestures, like the positioning of steel blocks, the arrangement of sheets of slate or carved wood, Nonas alters the emotional and perceptual weight of a space, making viewers aware of their own physical presence and the spatial relationship with both the work and its setting.

Fully complying with the vision and research taken forward by Richard Nonas during his entire life, this exhibition – conceived as a tribute that reflects his approach to art and includes the last major work of his career – has been installed in such a way as to evoke the sensibility of the artist as completely as possible.