LIKE THAT AND NOW IT GOES LIKE THIS
Curated by Ingrid Chu and Savannah Gorton
Forever & Today, Inc. is pleased to present I Donʼt Believe You, It Used To Be Like That And Now It Goes Like This, an exhibition by Danish artist Jasper Sebastian Stürup including three new works created specifically for the exhibition as well as a free artist book edition. Autobiographical elements not only link the works on view together, but point to a critical juncture in the artistʼs practice.
The large ink on paper drawing, It Used To Be Like That And Now It Goes Like This (2009), depicts a hallucinogenic montage of stacked objects and figures appearing like totem poles that allude to sculptures made of differing hard and soft materials. Among the varying forms are a continuous metamorphosis of cacti, faceless disembodied heads, frozen water, an abstract fur shape served on a plate, a cooked soufflé, a rabbit, mushrooms, diamonds, emanating rays of sunlight, and the artist himself in the act of drawing. Didnʼt Anybody Tell Her (2009) is a short video of cherry blossoms floating along the gently rippling waves of the Sumida River that runs through central Tokyo. This momentary transition of time and place during the artistʼs travels is touched upon in a simple and visually abstract manner, as points of light glint upon the petals in the water, creating dancing lines and stars. The small fur sculpture displayed under a glass dome, Came So Far For Beauty (2009), was created from the fur collar of a winter coat formerly worn by Stürup. Relating to the transformation of a foxʼs fur from a living creatureʼs coat to adorning a collar and ultimately becoming an artwork, the preciousness of this exquisite remnant and its uncanny appearance as a fetish-like object is preserved for contemplation. Significantly, a parallel reference is made to the artistʼs own journey of departing his home country in Scandinavia to reside in New York.
JASPER SEBASTIAN STÜRUP (b. 1969, Denmark) relocated from Copenhagen to New York in early 2008. Stürup received his MFA degree from The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen in 1999, and in addition to his work as an artist, he has self-published over 20 artist books since 1994 through Fluens Forlag (The Flyʼs Publishing Company). Stürupʼs recent solo exhibitions include Horsens Konstmuseum, Horsens, Denmark (2008). Group exhibitions include CCAA, Tokyo, Japan (2009); U-Turn Triennial, Copenhagen, Denmark (2008); Helsinki Biennial, Helsinki, Finland (2008); Friendly Fire independent publishers area of the NY Art Book Fair, New York (2006, ʼ07, ʼ08, ʼ09); Art Basel, Basel, Switzerland (2007); Museum of Contemporary Art, Skopje, Macedonia (2006); Library of Alexandria, Alexandria, Egypt (2006); Sixth Sharjah International Art Bienniale, Sharjah, UAE (2003); Carnegie Art Award, Reykjavik Art Museum, Reykjavik, Iceland (2002); Tenth International Print Triennial, Finland; and Malmö Konstmuseum, Malmö, Sweden (2001).
FOREVER & TODAY, INC. is a new non-profit initiative that is a sponsored organization of the New York Foundation for the Arts. Currently inhabiting a 100 square foot storefront on the cusp between New Yorkʼs Lower East Side and Chinatown, Forever & Today is a mere thumbprint on the ever-expanding demographic of contemporary art that offers a unique set of circumstances for artists to create new work and engage the public.