
JOSIAH MCELHENY
A Twilight Labyrinth (Alchemy)
2019
Low-iron mirror, two-way mirror, electric light, hand-blown, polished, and mirrored glass; Artist frame: Blue dyed walnut with blue architectural mirror inlay
24 x 37 1/2 x 24 in.
61 x 95.3 x 61 cm
JCG11081
JOSIAH MCELHENY
Observation Night Six
2019
Acrylic on board with inset, hand-formed and polished micromosaic glass, black mirror, ash frame
21 7/8 x 21 7/8 x 2 1/8 in. (framed)
55.6 x 55.6 x 5.4 cm
JCG10995
JOSIAH MCELHENY
Observation Night Five
2019
Acrylic on board with inset, hand-formed and polished micromosaic glass, black mirror, ash frame
21 7/8 x 21 7/8 x 2 1/8 in. (framed)
55.6 x 55.6 x 5.4 cm
JCG10994
JOSIAH MCELHENY
Observation Night Four
2019
Acrylic on board with inset, hand-formed and polished micromosaic glass, black mirror, ash frame
21 7/8 x 21 7/8 x 2 1/8 in. (framed)
55.6 x 55.6 x 5.4 cm
JCG10993
JOSIAH MCELHENY
Crystal Landscape Painting (Mineral)
2019
Hand-blown cut, polished and mirrored glass, transparent and low-iron mirror, grey mirror, painted steel, electric lighting, wood and hardware
54 15/16 x 54 15/16 x 18 11/16 in.
139.5 x 139.5 x 47.5 cm
JCG10500
JOSIAH MCELHENY
Moon Mirror
2019
Pressed colored prismatic glass, stainless steel, hardware
103 x 191 1/2 x 71 in
261.6 x 486.4 x 180.3 cm
Edition of 3
(JCG10506)
JOSIAH MCELHENY
Moon Mirror
2019
Pressed colored prismatic glass, stainless steel, hardware
103 x 191 1/2 x 71 in
261.6 x 486.4 x 180.3 cm
Edition of 3
(JCG10506)
JOSIAH MCELHENY
Detail: Moon Mirror
2019
Pressed colored prismatic glass, stainless steel, hardware
103 x 191 1/2 x 71 in
261.6 x 486.4 x 180.3 cm
Edition of 3
(JCG10506)
JOSIAH MCELHENY
Observatories at Night
2019
Hand-formed cut and polished blue glass, bent blue architectural sheet glass, blue
mirror, oak, blue dye and stain
68 x 72 x 60 in
172.7 x 182.9 x 152.4 cm
(JCG10988)
JOSIAH MCELHENY
Detail: Observatories at Night
2019
Hand-formed cut and polished blue glass, bent blue architectural sheet glass, blue
mirror, oak, blue dye and stain
68 x 72 x 60 in
172.7 x 182.9 x 152.4 cm
(JCG10988)
JOSIAH MCELHENY
Three Twilight Labyrinths
2019
Handblown mirrored glass, transparent and low-iron industrial mirror, blue mirror, oak, blue dye and stain, electric lighting, hardware, architectural intervention made of sheet rock, metal studs, plaster and latex paint
Dimensions variable with installation
Running length of triptych: 24 x 111 x 2 inches
Dimensions of individual “paintings”: 24 x 37 1/2 x 24 inches (Left); 24 x 31 1/2 x 24 inches (Center); 24 x 26 x 24 inches (Right)
(JCG10989)
JOSIAH MCELHENY
Detail: Three Twilight Labyrinths
2019
Handblown mirrored glass, transparent and low-iron industrial mirror, blue mirror, oak, blue dye and stain, electric lighting, hardware, architectural intervention made of sheet rock, metal studs, plaster and latex paint
Dimensions variable with installation
Running length of triptych: 24 x 111 x 2 inches
Dimensions of individual “paintings”: 24 x 37 1/2 x 24 inches (Left); 24 x 31 1/2 x 24 inches (Center); 24 x 26 x 24 inches (Right)
(JCG10989)
JOSIAH MCELHENY
Detail: Three Twilight Labyrinths
2019
Handblown mirrored glass, transparent and low-iron industrial mirror, blue mirror, oak, blue dye and stain, electric lighting, hardware, architectural intervention made of sheet rock, metal studs, plaster and latex paint
Dimensions variable with installation
Running length of triptych: 24 x 111 x 2 inches
Dimensions of individual “paintings”: 24 x 37 1/2 x 24 inches (Left); 24 x 31 1/2 x 24 inches (Center); 24 x 26 x 24 inches (Right)
(JCG10989)
JOSIAH MCELHENY
Seven Observations for June Tyson
2019
Acrylic on board with inset, hand-formed and polished micromosaic glass, black mirror, ash frame
40 1/2 x 53 1/2 x 2 1/8 in (framed)
102.9 x 135.9 x 5.4 cm
(JCG10996)
JOSIAH MCELHENY
Detail: Seven Observations for June Tyson
2019
Acrylic on board with inset, hand-formed and polished micromosaic glass, black mirror, ash frame
40 1/2 x 53 1/2 x 2 1/8 in (framed)
102.9 x 135.9 x 5.4 cm
(JCG10996)
JOSIAH MCELHENY
Observation Night Three
2019
Acrylic on board with inset, hand-formed and polished micromosaic glass, black mirror, ash frame
21 7/8 x 21 7/8 x 2 1/8 in (framed)
55.6 x 55.6 x 5.4 cm
(JCG10992)
JOSIAH MCELHENY
Detail: Observation Night Three
2019
Acrylic on board with inset, hand-formed and polished micromosaic glass, black mirror, ash frame
21 7/8 x 21 7/8 x 2 1/8 in (framed)
55.6 x 55.6 x 5.4 cm
(JCG10992)
JOSIAH MCELHENY
Crystal Landscape Painting (Triclinic), 2019
Hand-blown cut, polished and mirrored glass, transparent and low-iron mirror, grey mirror, painted steel, electric lighting, wood and hardware
54 15/16 x 54 15/16 x 18 11/16 in.
139.5 x 139.5 x 47.5 cm
(JCG10501)
JOSIAH MCELHENY
Detail: Crystal Landscape Painting (Triclinic), 2019
Hand-blown cut, polished and mirrored glass, transparent and low-iron mirror, grey mirror, painted steel, electric lighting, wood and hardware
54 15/16 x 54 15/16 x 18 11/16 in.
139.5 x 139.5 x 47.5 cm
(JCG10501)
JOSIAH McELHENY
Installation view: 57th Carnegie International, Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA, 13 October 2018 - 25 March 2019
Photo: Laurel Mitchell
JOSIAH McELHENY
Installation view: 57th Carnegie International, Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA, 13 October 2018 - 25 March 2019
Photo: Laurel Mitchell
JOSIAH McELHENY
Island Universe
2008
Handblown and press-molded glass, chrome-plated aluminum, electric lighting, rigging
Dimensions variable; largest element: approximately 12 feet in diameter; smallest element: approximately 7 feet in diameter
Installation view: Josiah McElheny: A Island Universe, Moody Center for theArts, Houston, TX, 2 February - 2 June, 2018
JOSIAH McELHENY
Island Universe
2008
Handblown and press-molded glass, chrome-plated aluminum, electric lighting, rigging
Dimensions variable; largest element: approximately 12 feet in diameter; smallest element: approximately 7 feet in diameter
Installation view: Josiah McElheny: A Island Universe, Moody Center for theArts, Houston, TX, 2 February - 2 June, 2018
JOSIAH McELHENY
Spatial Prism Painting I
2018
Hand-formed cut and polished blue glass, low-iron mirror, blue mirror, blue architectural sheet glass, oak, Sumi ink
43 1/2 x 57 1/4 x 7 1/2 in
110.5 x 145.4 x 19.1 cm
JCG10248
JOSIAH McELHENY
Spatial Prism Painting I (detail)
2018
Hand-formed cut and polished blue glass, low-iron mirror, blue mirror, blue architectural sheet glass, oak, Sumi ink
43 1/2 x 57 1/4 x 7 1/2 in
110.5 x 145.4 x 19.1 cm
JCG10248
JOSIAH McELHENY
Grey Prism Painting III
2015
Hand-formed cut and polished grey glass, grey and low-iron mirror,
grey architectural sheet glass, oak, Sumi ink
43 1/2 x 32 1/2 x 7 1/2 in.
110.5 x 82.6 x 17.8 cm
JCG9684
JOSIAH MCELHENY
Grey Prism Painting III (detail)
2015
Hand-formed cut and polished grey glass, grey and low-iron mirror,
grey architectural sheet glass, oak, Sumi ink
43 1/2 x 32 1/2 x 7 1/2 in.
110.5 x 82.6 x 17.8 cm
JCG9684
JOSIAH McELHENY
An End to Modernity
2005
Nickel-plated aluminum, electric lighting, hand-blown glass, steel cable, rigging
180 5/16 x 180 5/16 x 150 in.
Installation view: One Day at a Time: Manny Farber and Termite Art, curated by Helen Molesworth, MOCA Grand Avenue, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, 14 October 2018 - 11 March 2019
Photo by Zak Kelley
JOSIAH McELHENY
An End to Modernity (detail)
2005
Nickel-plated aluminum, electric lighting, hand-blown glass, steel cable, rigging
180 5/16 x 180 5/16 x 150 in.
JOSIAH McELHENY
The Ornament Museum
2016
Pavilion (in collaboration with John Vinci): hand-silkscreened low-iron glass, wood, paint, hardware, electric lights; Furniture: Table and chair
118 x 236 3/4 x 196 7/8 in.
299.7 x 601.3 x 500 cm
Performance: Actor; custom dress
Installation view: Josiah McElheny: The Ornament Museum, MAK, Vienna, Austria, 2016
JOSIAH McELHENY
The Ornament Museum
2016
Pavilion (in collaboration with John Vinci): hand-silkscreened low-iron glass, wood, paint, hardware, electric lights; Furniture: Table and chair
118 x 236 3/4 x 196 7/8 in.
299.7 x 601.3 x 500 cm
Performance: Actor; custom dress
Installation view: Josiah McElheny: The Ornament Museum, MAK, Vienna, Austria, 2016
JOSIAH MCELHENY
The Club for Modern Fashions
2013
Architectural vitrine (in collaboration with John Vinci):
wood, sheet-glass, hardware, carpet, furniture, paint and electric lighting;
119 3/4 x 194 1/2 x 146 1/2 in.
304.2 x 494 x 372.1 cm
Performance: actors; period suits and dresses; movement; duration variable.
Installation view: Josiah McElheny: Two Clubs at The Arts Club of Chicago, Arts Club of Chicago, 2013
JOSIAH MCELHENY
The Club for Modern Fashions
2013
Architectural vitrine (in collaboration with John Vinci):
wood, sheet-glass, hardware, carpet, furniture, paint and electric lighting;
119 3/4 x 194 1/2 x 146 1/2 in.
304.2 x 494 x 372.1 cm
Performance: actors; period suits and dresses; movement; duration variable.
Installation view: Josiah McElheny: Two Clubs at The Arts Club of Chicago, Arts Club of Chicago, 2013
JOSIAH McELHENY
Interactions of the Abstract Body
2012
JOSIAH MCELHENY
Models for an abstract body (after Delaunay and Malevich)
2012
Patinated cold-roll steel, cedar wood, low iron glass, hand blown and carved glass
65 3/8 x 24 1/2 x 17 1/2 inches
166.1 x 62.2 x 43.2 cm
JCG9868
JOSIAH MCELHENY
Models for an abstract body (after Delaunay and Malevich) (detail)
2012
Patinated cold-roll steel, cedar wood, low iron glass, hand blown and carved glass
65 3/8 x 24 1/2 x 17 1/2 inches
166.1 x 62.2 x 43.2 cm
JCG9868
JOSIAH MCELHENY
Three Screens for Looking at Abstraction
2012
Aluminum, low-iron mirror, projection cloth, film transferred to video (variable program),
video projectors with stands, wood, metal hardware; three parts, overall dimensions variable
JOSIAH MCELHENY
Three Screens for Looking at Abstraction
2012
Aluminum, low-iron mirror, projection cloth, film transferred to video (variable program),
video projectors with stands, wood, metal hardware; three parts, overall dimensions variable
JOSIAH McELHENY
Bruno Taut’s Monument to Socialist Spirituality (After Mies van der Rohe)
2009
Handblown molded glass, wood, and metal hardware
105 3/4 x 75 x 55 inches
JOSIAH McELHENY
Bruno Taut’s Monument to Socialist Spirituality (After Mies van der Rohe)
2009
Handblown molded glass, wood, and metal hardware
105 3/4 x 75 x 55 inches
JOSIAH McELHENY
Model for a Film Set (The Light Spa at the Bottom of a Mine)
2008
Handblown molded glass, painted cement, mortar, and wood
37 x 68 x 37 1/2 inches
JOSIAH McELHENY
Model for a Film Set (The Light Spa at the Bottom of a Mine)
2008
Handblown molded glass, painted cement, mortar, and wood
37 x 68 x 37 1/2 inches
JOSIAH McELHENY
Chromatic Modernism (Red, Blue, Yellow)
2008
Handblown glass, colored laminated sheet glass, low-iron sheet glass, anodized aluminum, metal hardware, and electric lighting
86 3/8 x 61 7/8 x 19 1/4 inches
JOSIAH McELHENY
Chromatic Modernism (Red, Blue, Yellow)
2008
Handblown glass, colored laminated sheet glass, low-iron sheet glass, anodized aluminum, metal hardware, and electric lighting
86 3/8 x 61 7/8 x 19 1/4 inches
JOSIAH McELHENY
The Alpine Cathedral and the City-Crown
2007
Handblown molded glass, metal, wood, metal hardware, Plexiglas, and mechanically animated colored lighting system
14 x 8 x 9 3/4 feet
Installation view: Projects 84: The Alpine Cathedral and the City-Crown, the Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2007, curated by Joshua Siegel
JOSIAH McELHENY
The Alpine Cathedral and the City-Crown
2007
Handblown molded glass, metal, wood, metal hardware, Plexiglas, and mechanically animated colored lighting system
14 x 8 x 9 3/4 feet
Installation view: The 1st at Moderna: The Alpine Cathedral and the City-Crown, Moderna Museet, Stockholm, 2007
JOSIAH McELHENY
The Alpine Cathedral and the City-Crown
2007
Handblown molded glass, metal, wood, metal hardware, Plexiglas, and mechanically animated colored lighting system
14 x 8 x 9 3/4 feet
JOSIAH McELHENY
Endlessly Repeating Twentieth Century Modernism
2007
Handblown mirrored glass, transparent and low-iron industrial mirror, industrial magnets, chrome metal laminate, wood, and electric lighting
94 1/2 x 92 3/4 x 92 3/4 inches
JOSIAH McELHENY
Endlessly Repeating Twentieth Century Modernism
2007
Handblown mirrored glass, transparent and low-iron industrial mirror, industrial magnets, chrome metal laminate, wood, and electric lighting
94 1/2 x 92 3/4 x 92 3/4 inches
JOSIAH McELHENY
Endlessly Repeating Twentieth Century Modernism
2007
Handblown mirrored glass, transparent and low-iron industrial mirror, industrial magnets, chrome metal laminate, wood, and electric lighting
94 1/2 x 92 3/4 x 92 3/4 inches
JOSIAH McELHENY
Extended Landscape Model for Total Reflective Abstraction
2004
Handblown mirrored glass, industrial mirror, and wood
24 x 108 x 92 inches
JOSIAH McELHENY
Extended Landscape Model for Total Reflective Abstraction
2004
Handblown mirrored glass, industrial mirror, and wood
24 x 108 x 92 inches
JOSIAH McELHENY
Kärntner Bar, Vienna, 1908, Adolf Loos (White)
2001
Room-size installation based on the architecture of The Kärntner Bar (The American Bar) in Vienna
Installation view: Beau Monde: Towards a Redeemed Cosmopolitanism, SITE Santa Fe, New Mexico
JOSIAH McELHENY
American Flag at the Karntner Bar, VIenna, 1908, Adolf Loos (White)
2001
Painted stained glass, painted steel, wood, and electric lighting
24 x 78 inches
JOSIAH McELHENY
Untitled (White)
2000
Handblown glass and wood
8 1/2 x 11 x 10 feet
JOSIAH McELHENY
Ornament and Crime
2002
Handblown glass, sheet glass, wood, metal, electric lighting, and fabric
51 x 84 x 12 in.
129.5 x 213.4 x 30.5 cm
JOSIAH McELHENY
Charlotte Perriand, Carlo Scarpa, some others (White)
2000
Handblown glass, sheet metal, wood, and metal hardware
89 1/2 x 93 1/2 x 15 inches
JOSIAH McELHENY
From an Historical Anecdote About Fashion
2000
Handblown glass, wood, metal hardware, sheet glass, and five framed digital prints
Dimensions variable
JOSIAH McELHENY
From an Historical Anecdote About Fashion (detail)
2000
Handblown glass, wood, metal hardware, sheet glass, and five framed digital prints
Dimensions variable
JOSIAH McELHENY
Impurities
1994-2012
Handblown glass, wood, low-iron sheet glass, brass mounting hardware, drawings, and hand-lettered text
Case one: 31 5/16 x 43 5/16 x 5 in.
79.5 x 110 x 12.7 cm
Cases two through five: 22 5/16 x 32 5/16 x 8 3/8 in.
56.7 x 82.1 x 23.3 cm
Running length: 188 9/16 inches
478.9 cm
JCG9870
JOSIAH McELHENY
Impurities (detail)
1994-2012
Handblown glass, wood, low-iron sheet glass, brass mounting hardware, drawings, and hand-lettered text
Case one: 31 5/16 x 43 5/16 x 5 in.
79.5 x 110 x 12.7 cm
Cases two through five: 22 5/16 x 32 5/16 x 8 3/8 in.
56.7 x 82.1 x 23.3 cm
Running length: 188 9/16 inches
478.9 cm
JCG9870
JOSIAH McELHENY
Impurities (detail)
1994-2012
Handblown glass, wood, low-iron sheet glass, brass mounting hardware, drawings, and hand-lettered text
Case one: 31 5/16 x 43 5/16 x 5 in.
79.5 x 110 x 12.7 cm
Cases two through five: 22 5/16 x 32 5/16 x 8 3/8 in.
56.7 x 82.1 x 23.3 cm
Running length: 188 9/16 inches
478.9 cm
JCG9870
For over two decades Josiah McElheny has closely observed the history of modernist aesthetics and ideas. McElheny investigates and visualizes these concepts through a vigorously researched oeuvre. Often combining glass with other materials, McElheny creates sculptures and installations but also performances, films, projections, and curatorial and writing projects.
McElheny’s concerns with the alternate potentials of modernism invite vastly-ranging topics of study and artistic subjects, spanning from astronomical cosmology to re-exposing and re-contextualizing under-appreciated artists and schools of thought, including the visionary abstraction of Hilma af Klint, the early twentieth-century writing of Paul Scheerbart, and the crystalline sculptural paintings of Robert Smithson. Combining these seemingly disparate sources, McElheny develops hybrid narratives that lucidly imagine divergent pasts.
McElheny effortlessly integrates the theoretical bent of his work with a commitment to materiality that pervades all elements of his practice, from sculptures to community-based performances. McElheny has used glass throughout his career for its conceptual and perceptual properties. Glass, for McElheny, embodied by its qualities of reflectivity, transparency, and fluid mutability, highlights the interactive potential between the object and viewer that is always a central concern of his artmaking. As McElheny has stated, "If 'the reflective' can be described as a medium, it is one in which the viewer becomes the author, because without the viewer it is impossible to discern the something, or even the nothing, that is there." However, discussions about his work should not be restricted to medium-specific terms. Materiality functions as a far more dynamic and productive agent, positing unexpected connections between sources of art, architecture, literature, and ideas, and permitting them to exist together in one experiential frame.
Josiah McElheny (b. 1966, Boston, MA) has exhibited widely, including solo shows at the Cantor Arts Center, Stanford University, CA (2019); Moody Center for the Arts, Rice University, Houston, TX (2018); MAK Österreichisches Museum für angewandte Kunst, Vienna, Austria (2016); Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus (2013), Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston (2012), Whitechapel Art Gallery, London (2011), Museo de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid (2009), Moderna Museet, Stockholm and Museum of Modern Art, New York (2007), Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea, Santiago de Compostela, Spain (2002), Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco (2001), The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston (1999) and the Seattle Art Museum (1995). His work is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA; Museum of Fine Art, Boston, MA; Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden; and Tate Modern, London, UK among others. McElheny lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.