Taking a small bite out of a larger sculptural practice, “Tony Feher 1986–1994” is a valuable reminder of the late artist’s skill at transforming the seemingly prosaic into the spontaneously poetic. Covering eight years of Feher’s life, before and after his HIV diagnosis, the fifteen works featured here demonstrate Feher’s distinct awareness of time (he died in 2016) and his keen attention to form.
Many of the pieces in this presentation have never been exhibited before, giving us the gift of a first encounter. While Feher has recently received long-awaited recognition for his drawings (a book of these works was published in 2022 by Gregory R. Miller & Co.), the artist is best known for his creative arrangements of mundane objects in configurations resembling sanctuaries. In the hands of Feher, the cheap becomes cherished; the banal, the beautiful; and the junky, quite a gem. Although often mentioned in connection with the art of Felix Gonzalez-Torres and Gabriel Orozco, Feher’s output is also in dialogue with that of Yuji Agematsu and Candy Jernigan – artists who have dressed up as city archaeologists roaming the streets. looking for treasures.
His signature use of glass jars and marbles is well represented in this intimate size show, as seen in two Untitled works made between 1991 and 1993. Elsewhere, the marbles are either placed on a sheet of aluminum foil or suspended from the ceiling inside a mesh bag. The reflective surfaces of the materials catch the sun from the gallery’s two large windows overlooking New York, resulting in various studies of light – a primary interest for Feher. A glass jar was emptied onto a pedestal, revealing thirty-seven objects arranged in a square-shaped group (Untitled, 1992–93). The cardboard box is another recurring motif, making an appearance in four of the works presented. These sculptures bear witness to Feher’s preoccupation with objects that function as containers, to be filled and emptied. While they can be read as vessels containing the massive losses caused by the AIDS crisis, being filled and emptied also echoes the process of breathing, and therefore the body itself.
