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Other Primary Structures

Mar. 14 – Aug. 3, 2014

This two-part exhibition features sculptures by artists working in the 1960s in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Africa and reexamines the historic Jewish Museum show Primary Structures: Younger American and British Sculptors (1966) from a global point of view.

The Jewish Museum presents a major exhibition of sculpture from the 1960s featuring the work of artists from Latin America, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe, much of which has rarely been seen in the United States. Other Primary Structures revisits the premise of and builds upon the Museum’s seminal 1966 exhibition Primary Structures: Younger American and British Sculptors, the first American museum exhibition to survey the style now known as Minimalism. Primary Structures introduced the public to such artists as Carl Andre, Dan Flavin, Donald Judd, Sol LeWitt, Walter De Maria, Robert Morris, and others—figures unknown at the time but soon to become synonymous with a radically new approach to sculpture. Nearly 50 years later, Other Primary Structures revisits this formative moment in art history while also reexamining the period from today’s far more global perspective.

Presented in two parts, Other Primary Structures is on view from March 14 – August 3, 2014. The first part of the exhibition titled Others 1, on view from March 14 – May 18, 2014, examines work created between 1960 and 1967, while Others 2, on view from May 25 – August 3, presents work created between 1967 and 1970, some of which was directly influenced by the 1966 Primary Structures exhibition at the Jewish Museum.

In conjunction with the exhibition, the Jewish Museum is publishing a two-volume catalogue. The first volume is a reissue of the original Primary Structures catalogue that is currently out-of-print. The second volume, the accompanying catalogue for Other Primary Structures, is illustrated and features an essay by the curator, Jens Hoffmann. It also includes excerpts from the unpublished unedited transcript of the 1966 symposium on “The New Sculpture” with panelists Mark di Suvero, Donald Judd, Robert Morris, critic Barbara Rose, and Kynaston McShine, the curator of Primary Structures.

Other Primary Structures is organized by Jens Hoffmann, Deputy Director, Exhibitions and Public Programs.

Others 1: March 14 – May 18, 2014

  • Rasheed Araeen
  • Sérgio Camargo
  • Willys de Castro
  • Saloua Raouda Choucair*
  • Lygia Clark
  • Noemí Escandell
  • Gego
  • Stanislav Kolíbal
  • Edward Krasiński
  • David Lamelas
  • David Medalla
  • Hélio Oiticica
  • Lygia Pape
  • Alejandro Puente
  • Norberto Puzzolo
  • Branko Vlahović

* publication only

Others 2: May 25 – August 3, 2014

  • Oscar Bony
  • Benni Efrat
  • Yoshida Katsurō
  • Stanislav Kolíbal
  • Susumu Koshimiz
  • Ivan Kožarić
  • David Lamelas
  • Amir Nour
  • Juan Pablo Renzi
  • Nobuo Sekine
  • Antonieta Sosa
  • Kishio Suga
  • Jirō Takamatsu
  • Lee Ufan

Other Primary Structures is made possible in part by The Peter Jay Sharp Exhibition Fund.

Endowment support is provided by The Jewish Museum Centennial Exhibition Fund. Additional support is provided by Agnes Gund, The Cowles Charitable Trust, The Artis Grant Program, The Athena Foundation, and a group of donors in memory of James L. Weinberg.

​Installation view of Other Primary Structures. 2014 The Jewish Museum. Photo by David Heald.

Exhibition highlights

  • Oscar Bony (Argentina, born 1941, died 2002), Sinusoid or Structure, 1967. Wood, lacquer 63 x 67 x 472 1/2 in. (160 x 170 x 1200 cm). Eduardo F. Costantini Collection, extended loan to the Malba – Fundación Costantini, Museo de Arte Latinoamericano, Buenos Aires.

    Oscar Bony (Argentina, born 1941, died 2002), Sinusoid or Structure, 1967. Wood, lacquer 63 x 67 x 472 1/2 in. (160 x 170 x 1200 cm). Eduardo F. Costantini Collection, extended loan to the Malba – Fundación Costantini, Museo de Arte Latinoamericano, Buenos Aires.

  • Alejandro Puente (Argentina, born 1930, died 2013), Structure, 1966. Oil on canvas, 74 7/8 x 63 x 78 3/4 in. (190 x 160 x 200 cm). Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, Purchase as a gift of Margaret McDermott in honor of Barbara Duncan, and Judy and Charles Tate, 2005. Photographer: Rick Hall.

    Alejandro Puente (Argentina, born 1930, died 2013), Structure, 1966. Oil on canvas, 74 7/8 x 63 x 78 3/4 in. (190 x 160 x 200 cm). Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, Purchase as a gift of Margaret McDermott in honor of Barbara Duncan, and Judy and Charles Tate, 2005. Photographer: Rick Hall.

  • Rasheed Araeen (Pakistan, born 1935), First Structure, 1966–67, steel, paint, 55 × 55 × 55 in. Aicon Gallery, New York. © Rasheed Araeen

    Rasheed Araeen (Pakistan, born 1935), First Structure, 1966–67, steel, paint, 55 × 55 × 55 in. Aicon Gallery, New York. © Rasheed Araeen

  • Edward Krasinski (Poland, born 1925, died 2004), Untitled, 1965, metal rod and wood, two parts 70 7/8 in. long (180 cm). Courtesy of Paulina Krasinska and Foksal Gallery Foundation, Warsaw.

    Edward Krasinski (Poland, born 1925, died 2004), Untitled, 1965, metal rod and wood, two parts 70 7/8 in. long (180 cm). Courtesy of Paulina Krasinska and Foksal Gallery Foundation, Warsaw.

  • Ivan Kožaric (Croatia, born 1921), Red Sign, 1969, painted wood 106 x 19 3/4 x 15 3/4 in (269 x 50 x 40 cm). Gliptoteka HAZU, Zagreb.

    Ivan Kožaric (Croatia, born 1921), Red Sign, 1969, painted wood 106 x 19 3/4 x 15 3/4 in (269 x 50 x 40 cm). Gliptoteka HAZU, Zagreb.

  • An architectural model of the Warburg Mansion, home to the Jewish Museum, as it was in 1966, before the 1993 expansion.

    An architectural model of the Warburg Mansion, home to the Jewish Museum, as it was in 1966, before the 1993 expansion.

  • Installation view of Other Primary Structures at the Jewish Museum, New York. Photo: Matthew Carasella/SocialShutterbug.com

    Installation view of Other Primary Structures at the Jewish Museum, New York. Photo: Matthew Carasella/SocialShutterbug.com

  • Claudia Gould, Helen Goldsmith Menschel Director, and Jens Hoffmann, Deputy Director, Exhibitions and Public Programs, discuss the exhibition Other Primary Structures at the Jewish Museum.

    Claudia Gould, Helen Goldsmith Menschel Director, and Jens Hoffmann, Deputy Director, Exhibitions and Public Programs, discuss the exhibition Other Primary Structures at the Jewish Museum.