Beginning a decade ago, Helmut Lang has devoted his creativity to making art.
Helmut Lang at Sperone Westwater: The first time I met Jenny Holzer, she was wearing Helmut Lang, and ever since, I’ve always thought of Lang as a member of the art world. (And the pair have collaborated, beginning most famously with a 1996 project for the Florence Biennale, “I Smell You On My Clothes.”) While his brand continues —marked by strong silhouettes, a monochromatic palette, and a sense of power and purpose —Lang himself retired from the fashion firmament to start creating art full-time in 2005. After a series of solo and group shows throughout (mostly) Europe, he is making his official Manhattan gallery debut this spring at the powerhouse Sperone Westwater (other artists in their stable include William Wegman, Bruce Nauman, Richard Long and Tom Sachs).
The sculptures presented, on view through February 21, are arrayed against the wall like an arsenal of tree trunks, or deployed in rows of mysterious wall-mounted monochromes marked by intriguing surfaces. Like Lang himself and his eponymous fashion house, the new work is confident, streamlined, important and with air of mystery balanced by a beautiful austere functionality.
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