Ève Laroche-Joubert

5 July 2014 – 5 July 2016

Curated by Paul Goodwin and Alexa Kusber.

Artists: Eve Bailey (FR/USA), Bureau A (CH), Andrea Hasler (BR/CH), Tarik Hayward (CH).

The 3-D Foundation is pleased to present MUTATIONS at the Verbier 3-D Sculpture Park from 5 July 2014. This exhibition presents five new works created during the biennial six-week Artist Residency that occurred from the end of May until the beginning of July in Verbier, Switzerland. The exhibition celebrates the development of monumental sculpture in the context of the Alps and is part of the Label’Art 2014 initiative in Valais.

The curatorial premise for the 2014 3-D Artist Residency was MUTATIONS by London (Tate) curator Paul Goodwin: What are the emerging forms of mutation in contemporary art practices? How can contemporary art transform our understanding of the complex entanglements caused by proliferating mutations in the environment and society? Can artists mutate/remix/re-vision our understanding of society, environment and culture?

The artists were invited to live in the reclusive mountain town of Verbier and become fully immersed within the context of place encouraging them to consider the relationship of their practice to not only the proposed theme, but also to existing pieces, the landscape features, history and current perspective of the site. This year’s artists were chosen based on their interest in experimentation and desire to push the medium of sculpture forward, keeping it alive by experimenting with both the possibilities of materials and the capabilities of space in connection with the viewer.

Opening July 5th, 2014, 11:30 am tour of the sculpture park between Les Ruinettes et La Chaux, 6-9 pm cocktail  at Le Bec on Place Blanche, 8 pm live performance by artist Eve Bailey with students dancers from the Conservatoire de Sion.

3-D Foundation, Verbier, Switzerland

Eve Bailey (FR/USA) has formed a practice based on the concepts of balance and coordination. Rooted in the tradition of the artist-engineer, she creates ergonomic and genetic sculptures sympathetic to human embrace as well as complex line drawings that embody her love for architecture and dance.

Bailey constructed Our Impermanent Walk as an interactive kinetic sculpture inspired by the wings of the first flying machines. The sculpture-device serves to experiment with the sense of proprioception and express finite moments of equilibrium. The concept is literally and metaphorically about groundlessness, impermanence, trust and collaboration. As two people climb upon the structure, they loose their traditional relationship to gravity and cannot hold on to anything but each other’s counter weight. They are bound to collaborate to find their balance.