Ceal Floyer

About

Subject of a number of major institutional solo presentations in recent years, Ceal Floyer's oeuvre is characterized by a distinct voice: exuding a quiet but forceful presence, her works address us with playfulness and profundity. Slight alterations to found objects that are usually familiar from everyday experiences create surprising interventions that heighten the awareness of our surroundings. Often the artist mixes visual and linguistic references, combining semantic levels in a disorienting and witty way. Her work achieves a profoundly paradoxical condition: feather-light gravitas.

Functioning as central marker and choreographing the experience of the exhibition space, Greener Grass beckons the visitor to enter: a large-scale expanse of grass elevated on a low pedestal, the work nonetheless exudes great lightness. Verisimilitude is not at issue, rather it represents an act of faith: as visitors walk around the green area, they will question their perception—is the grass really greener on the other side? The work of course takes literally the English idiom, representing both sides in one green expanse. Seen from the entrance we see one green, from the inside the green is another—but is it greener?

In a small wall-mounted vitrine 150 cm is found: a standard measuring tape has been cut into individual one-centimeter sections. Taking the title literally, the vitrine contains 150 centimeters.

Removing its functionality from an object by executing its literal function is also the point of departure for Slinky: posed in its natural physical shape, the possibility of momentum is removed.

Similar to her sculptures, Floyer's photographs often represent visual and linguistic puns. Depicting an upturned umbrella with water, Umbrella at first glance uses a simple reversal of function. From a convex shield pointing toward the sky to protect its bearer from the rain, the characteristic shape has been transformed into a receptacle.

Initially reminiscent of a minimalist sculpture, the new audio work, Slide, pairs two soundbars with found acoustic representations, the auditory equivalents of spatial movement. A major element of the artist's oeuvre, her audio works can be abstract and concrete, like many of Floyer's works acting akin to a conceptual syncopation: stopping us in our tracks, sometimes in mid-step.