Raphaël Zarka: Rhombus Sectus

About

BISCHOFF/WEISS is pleased to present Rhombus Sectus, Raphaël Zarka's first solo show at the gallery. Raphaël Zarka's work focuses on pre-existing forms. His ongoing series entitled The Forms of Rest is a record of fragmented concrete structures discovered in rural and suburban France. Through sculpture, video and photography Zarka creates an archive of these abandoned constructions that never came to fruition, turning them into involuntary sculptures whilst creating an atmosphere of the mysterious and the unknown. For his first solo show at BISCHOFF/WEISS, Zarka focuses his gaze on a particular geometric shape, the Rhombicuboctahedron, an Archimedean solid, composed of eighteen square and eight triangular faces, that also appears in the series The Forms of Rest. Widely documented throughout history, Zarka's extensive research merges historical knowledge with his contemporary vision. His sculptures entitled Rhombisticks are carved from a single block of wood, as described in the 17th Century treatise, Geometry Improved by Mathematician and Astronomer, Abraham Sharp. In The Divine Proportion, published in 1509, Luca Pacioli's interest in the rhombicuboctahedron extended to its use in architecture, a recent example of which can be seen in Zarka's film Rhombus Sectus, 2009. The National library of Belarus in Minsk, a striking, 72 metre high rhombicuboctahedron, dominates the scene, towering over the surrounding city. The illuminated walls conceal what lies within, an impressive exterior transforming this everyday public building into an enigmatic monument.