Marianne Vitale

Zach Feuer Gallery is pleased to present Nine Worthies, new sculptures by Marianne Vitale.

Following Vitale’s trajectory of repurposing materials from America’s industrial infrastructure, for this presentation she mines once-functionary units from railroad track yards and transfers them to a new positioning, a new context. Decommissioned transport apparatus erected as totems.

Each of the cast manganese steel structures, referred to as “common crossings” in the railroad industry, were fabricated decades ago, designed to ensure the wheel of a train crosses the gap in the rail without dropping into that gap. Treated with explosive shock hardening to increase service life, they were laid down horizontally across America bearing the brunt of millions of tons of cargo sliding over them.

The exhibition is comprised of a group of various sized and shaped crossings, individually welded to steel plates endowing them with a commanding vertical direction. Some feature more bolts and mechanical trappings than others. Some sleek, others more brutal and menacing. Several dominate the room with stances over 12 feet high.

// To note, Common Crossings, an exhibit of sculptures from the same series, is atop Chelsea’s High Line, as part of Cecilia Alemani’s curated show Archeo. The works stand above 24th Street at 10th Avenue through March 2015. //

Marianne Vitale (b. 1973) graduated from the School of Visual Arts, New York in 1996. Recent projects include a solo exhibition at The Contemporary Austin, Texas (2013); works featured on Chelsea’s High Line, New York (2014); and commissions for Frieze New York and Performa, NY (2013). Her works have been exhibited at the Whitney Museum of American Art, White Columns, the Brooklyn Museum, Anthology Film Archives, San Francisco Art Institute; and international venues such as Kunstraum Innsbruck, Austria; Le Confort Moderne, France; Tensta Konsthall, Sweden; UKS, Norway; and Contemporary Art Center of Vilnius, Lithuania. Upcoming projects include an exhibition with The Aldrich Museum, Connecticut (2016). New publications include These Things Are Hard To Say, Yogurt Boys Press, New York; Lost Marbles, Editions Lutanie, Paris; and Train Wreck, Kitto San, New York (all 2014).