“Momentary Monumentality”: Kevin Francis Gray’s site specific installation at the Rudolph Tegners Museum, Denmark, 2024
Momentary Monumentality by Kevin Francis Gray at the Rudolph Tegners Museum features a striking installation - a ten-meter-high plaster sculpture that incorporates human figures. The installation is displayed next to Tegner’s traditional sculptures, highlighting their shared focus on monumentality and materiality.
Gray’s figures are created from off-white dense matter in the center of the exhibition hall using the build-up and amalgamation technique. They are significantly larger than life-size and showcase the concept of Heraclitan vitalism, which rejects the idea of matter being inert and instead invokes cosmological energy. Although static, the human figures exude a palpable sense of creative energy and atavistic dynamism.
Alongside to the significant center installation, Gray exhibits a group of new abstract models from his latest body of work, marking his transition from figuration to abstraction.
At its core, Momentary Monumentality revolves around sculpture as a medium for exploring the interplay of matter and form within the dimensions of space and time. The dialogue between Tegner’s and Gray’s works pivots around the themes of monumentality and materiality, revealing the underlying gentleness and fragility of both artists and their creations. Through collaborative labor, sculpture emerges as more than just an artistic expression; it becomes a dynamic practice capable of shaping and influencing the cultural and social landscape.
