Skarstedt presents Cast From Life, an exhibition of contemporary sculpture featuring works by George Condo, Peter Fischli & David Weiss, Isa Genzken, Robert Gober, Mark Grotjahn, Rachel Harrison, Mike Kelley, Martin Kippenberger, Jeff Koons, Juan Muñoz, Cady Noland, Ugo Rondinone, Thomas Schütte, Rebecca Warren, and Franz West. Cast from Life examines the diverse approaches of sculptors today and explores how they capture psychological states and create narratives utilizing materials ranging from traditional cast bronze to everyday objects. The exhibition will be on view at Skarstedt (20 E. 79th Street) from September 18 through October 25, 2014.

Within the history of sculptural practice, ‘life-casting’ is as a technique through which to create a threedimensional copy of a living body. Cast From Life loosely interprets the process of casting and examines the ways that these sculptors use various forms to mold meaning. Delving into the materiality of contemporary sculpture, the exhibition creates juxtapositions between a wide-range of today’s sculptors, drawing comparisons in their methodology.

The artists featured in Cast From Life all play with the long-established tenets of sculpture to go beyond straightforward replication. While created through traditional methods, Thomas Schütte’s bronze bust, Wichte (2), 2006, embodies the state of agony rather than simply conveying the physicality of the human shape. Eschewing more traditional sculptural materials in favor of yarn, Mike Kelley’s Manly Craft #4, 1989, references the body while expressing the abject nature of the object. Hanging on the wall, the common craft material recalls a cast-off summer camp project. The appearance of material perfection in the playfully fabricated animals of Jeff Koons’ Stacked, 1988, belies the craft in their wooden construction.