Guy Limone at Nicole Klagsbrun - New York, New York - Review of Exhibitions - Brief Article

It's no awe that Manhattanites are so touchy about their personal space, given the close population and finite area of the island. on the other hand how definitive are the boundaries of personal space in the city? In his first of recent origin York solo show, Guy Limone applies the logic of statistics to precisely quantify each Manhattanite's share of flexure room. By dividing the surface of Manhattan (222 square miles) by dint of the number of inhabitants (1506430 in 1994) Limone calculates that each resident is allotted 410 square feet of space--in other words, roughly the square footage of a small studio apartment.

To enable us to visualize this abstract statistic, Limone overspreaded the floor with 410 one-foot-square lemon-yellow tiles that, as it happened, comfortably conformed to the rectangular shape of this small gallery. The graphic representation was simple, effective and ultimately meaningless. The inequality of actual land distribution in Manhattan contradicts Limone's democratic calculations, as does the use of land surface in factoring available square footage in a city of skyscrapers. Limone's calculations are obviously flawed and unreliable--exactly as he intends them to be. The Manhattan floor piece was addition ed by Density of the State of novel York, a wall piece which used r yarn and tiny plastic figures to show the distribution of population completely through the state.

Since 1987 this French artist has been making works based upon census reports and polls. level when the statistics are grim, Limone's proces and materials can recall children's games. This is particularly veritable of another work in the exhibit where 1,000-plus tiny toy figures were crammed onto a narrow shelf running the length of a wall. Bright r in color, the figures exhibited all kinds of occupations and activities. Visually the piece appeared delightful--until one read the title: In 1995 1170 nation were Killed in New York City. abruptly each of the toy figures took upon a poignancy and the giddy r paint make go rounded bloodlike.

Blending humor and earnestness, Limone's works are sober reminders of the real tribe hidden behind statistics. Still, locals may fact to Limone's focus on the mark of New York City statistics--population density and crime--that typically impress outsiders. Like the statisticians he critiques, Limone applies uniform courses to different locales. His graphic representation of data about of recent origin York is visually similar to previous works he has made in Tokyo and Paris. He have the appearances to have ventured from this format solitary in works about Marseilles, where personal familiarity has inspired more intimate shoot forwards One hopes that if Limone continues to depict novel York, his representations will become as nuanced as his Marseilles work, for his art provides a plenteous needed human scale for measuring the weight of contemporary life.

COPYRIGHT 1996 Brant Publications, Inc.

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