Gregory Polony
Wednesday, 16 February 2011
Work from his oeuvre (mostly Debut, his ongoing show at Herrmann Germann in Zürich)
“The exhibition focuses on how we approach and interpret sculpture. Extending across various media, and partly site-specific, Gregory Polony’s work draws on a reduced palette of materials, including found objects, cement, wooden boards, and lashing belts.
His conceptual approach to sculpture is also shaped by intuitive and surprising moments, which he integrates into his works by means of drawings and photographs.
While the photographs show an interpretive perspective, the drawings describe a fictitious state in Polony’s works. «On the surface, the drawings are simple, quick, and efficient. While the ideas for them exist beforehand, their representation by means of a pen and the human hand are beyond control. Such uncontrollability and spontaneity enable surprise, and thereby open up new fields.»
Polony’s work centres on the art establishment and, unlike purely conceptual approaches, seeks to render it visible. His ‹in situ› work invites observers to integrate its surroundings and to develop a stance towards it. The context of presentation thereby functions as a starting point integral to the work.
What constitutes the quality of a work of art? Polony adopts a critical stance towards both his work and art. «Implementation is most important, irrespective of the context in which a particular work emerges or is shown. The point at which a work finalises itself and is mounted is a unique moment, one which also lapses immediately. The thought ‹done, next one› is forever present.»
How a work can be incorporated into and further developed in new settings after its publication and contextualisation is an essential aspect of Polony’s working method.” – Tomas Germann