Terry Adkins: The Smooth, The Cut, and The Assembled - Lévy Gorvy
  • Installation view of Terry Adkins: The Smooth, The Cut, and The Assembled

    Installation view of Terry Adkins: The Smooth, The Cut, and The Assembled. Photograph Tom Powel Imaging

  • Installation view of Terry Adkins: The Smooth, The Cut, and The Assembled

    Installation view of Terry Adkins: The Smooth, The Cut, and The Assembled. Photograph Tom Powel Imaging

  • Installation view of Terry Adkins: The Smooth, The Cut, and The Assembled

    Installation view of Terry Adkins: The Smooth, The Cut, and The Assembled. Photograph Tom Powel Imaging

Terry Adkins: The Smooth, The Cut, and The AssembledExhibitions

New York
January 10 - February 17, 2018

OPENING RECEPTION

JANUARY 10, 6-8PM

Terry Adkins: The Smooth, The Cut, and The Assembled

Following Lévy Gorvy’s recent announcement of its representation of the Estate of Terry Adkins, the gallery will debut its first solo exhibition devoted to the acclaimed artist and composer. Terry Adkins: The Smooth, The Cut, and The Assembled will explore the visual and conceptual concerns that define the late artist’s sculptural output, inviting a new appreciation of his unique interdisciplinary practice.

Curated by Charles Gaines, Adkins’ close friend and frequent collaborator, this exhibition seeks to illuminate a revolutionary oeuvre through fresh eyes, grounded in the conceptual and personal rapport between these two groundbreaking artists. Based in Los Angeles, Gaines has maintained his own art practice since the late 1960s.

Presented on two floors of Lévy Gorvy’s flagship Madison Avenue location, Terry Adkins: The Smooth, The Cut, and The Assembled will be comprised of works spanning over three decades of Adkins’ career (1986–2013), which ended prematurely when he passed away unexpectedly in February 2014 at the age of 59. The exhibition focuses on the formal methods he employed to distill his art down to the very “essence” of his materials, often mining the history of the African diaspora for marginalized forms and figures. By reconsidering and reconfiguring established narratives in his installations and performances, Adkins sought access to a deeper realm of experience: a “spirit world,” as he called it, contained within each object and individual.

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Selected Works

  • Terry Adkins, Native Son (Circus), 2006-15

    Terry Adkins, Native Son (Circus), 2006-15, cymbals, armature, and additional technical components, 20 x 96 inches (50.8 x 243.8 cm). Courtesy of the Estate of Terry Adkins. © The Estate of Terry Adkins

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  • Terry Adkins, Shenandoah, 1998

    Terry Adkins, Shenandoah, 1998, concrete, steel, rope, and silicone
    18 1/2 x 22 x 30 inches (47 x 55.9 x 76.2 cm). Courtesy of the Estate of Terry Adkins. © The Estate of Terry Adkins

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  • Terry Adkins, Bona Fide, 2000

    Terry Adkins, Bona Fide, 2000, stencil board, 86" diameter.
    Courtesy of the Estate of Terry Adkins. © The Estate of Terry Adkins

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  • Terry Adkins, Matchbox Blue, 2003

    Terry Adkins, Matchbox Blue, 2003, aluminum, 42 x 28 x 18 inches (106.7 x 71.1 x 45.7 cm), Courtesy of the Estate of Terry Adkins. © The Estate of Terry Adkins

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  • Terry Adkins, Bessie Smith Head, Red, 2007

    Terry Adkins, Bessie Smith Head, Red, 2007, blown glass, 20 x 16 x 11 inches (50.8 x 40.6 x 27.9 cm)
    Courtesy of the Estate of Terry Adkins. © The Estate of Terry Adkins

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  • Terry Adkins's work Mvet Majestic II, 1989

    Terry Adkins, Mvet Majestic II, 1989, Wood and acrylic
    Overall dimensions variable; approx. 80 x 36 x 2 inches (203.2 x 91.4 x 5.1 cm)
    Courtesy of the Estate of Terry Adkins. © The Estate of Terry Adkins

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Video

Terry Adkins | Musical Performance with Burnt Sugar the Arkestra Chamber and Greg Tate

March 9, 2018

Selected Press

Sculpture Magazine | Terry Adkins

November 1, 2018

The work of Terry Adkins, who died in 2014, is nothing less than visually embodied philosophy.

The New York Times | She Married an Artist, and Now Finds Comfort in His Work

February 13, 2018

Today, Ms. Williams-Adkins is committed to preserving her husband’s legacy and last year brought his …

Contemporary Art Daily | Terry Adkins at Lévy Gorvy

February 9, 2018

Following Lévy Gorvy’s recent announcement of its representation of the Estate of Terry Adkins, the …

Art Observed | NEW YORK — TERRY ADKINS: “THE SMOOTH, THE CUT, AND THE ASSEMBLED” AT LÉVY GORVY THROUGH FEBRUARY 17TH, 2018

February 3, 2018

Soon after Lévy Gorvy announced representation of Terry Adkins’ estate, the gallery has opened …

Frieze | Terry Adkins

January 31, 2018

Terry Adkins, who unexpectedly died in 2014, left behind a multidisciplinary body of work that is hard …

Artforum | Critic's Pick: Terry Adkins

January 27, 2018

Consider Terry Adkins a chronicler of alternate pasts. The late artist’s performances and sculptures, …

Artdaily | Lévy Gorvy opens first solo exhibition dedicated to artist and composer Terry Adkins

January 12, 2018

Terry Adkins: The Smooth, The Cut, and The Assembled highlights the physical force through which Adkins …

Observer | Terry Adkins’ Sculptures Sing at New York’s Lévy Gorvy Gallery

January 11, 2018

The show at Lévy Gorvy, which now represents the artist’s estate, is called “Terry Adkins: The Smooth, …

The Financial Times | Terry Adkins exhibition shakes up New York

January 9, 2018

The show is timely. Adkins’ reputation has soared of late: his work was featured in the 2014 Whitney …

Blouin Artinfo | Terry Adkins: “The Smooth, The Cut, and The Assembled” at Lévy Gorvy, New York

January 8, 2018

Terry Adkins’ “The Smooth, The Cut, and The Assembled” is his first solo exhibition at the gallery. It …

Artnet | Editors’ Picks: 12 Things to See in New York This Week

January 8, 2018

This marks the gallery’s first solo show of late artist Terry Adkins, having just announced representation …

Blouin Artinfo | Top Art Shows in New York This Week

January 4, 2018

Blouin ArtInfo hand-picks a list of must-visit shows, including Terry Adkins at Lévy Gorvy. The show …

Culture Type | The 14 Best Black Art Books of 2017

December 18, 2017

When Terry Adkins (1953-2014) died suddenly three years ago, this catalog was in development. Understandably …

Artnet | Price Check! Here’s What Sold—and for How Much—at Art Basel Miami Beach

December 11, 2017

There’s a reason why Art Basel in Miami Beach has been dubbed the art world’s Black Friday. Judging …

Artnet | 10 of the Most Eye-Opening Artworks at Art Basel Miami Beach

December 8, 2017

At the fair, Lévy Gorvy has a 2013 sculpture that illustrates Adkins’s complexity. Sitting on a low …

Artnet | Lévy Gorvy to Represent the Estate of Terry Adkins

November 20, 2017

When art dealer Dominique Lévy first saw the work of American artist Terry Adkins a few years ago at …

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