Robert Barry

KUNSTHALLE NURNBERG

Among those who pioneered the artwork's dematerialization, few were as committed in their efforts as Robert Barry. After abandoning painting in 1967, he moved from site-specific installations composed of wire and nylon thread to art that exceeded the realm of the visible entirely: projects employing electromagnetic waves, radiation, and various types of inert gas. Barry's concession to vision took the austere form of words-written on sheets of paper, imprinted directly on gallery walls, or projected as slides. Barry's seminal role in Conceptual art's formation should become better acknowledged with the unveiling of this exhibition, curated by Nurnberg director Ellen Seifermann, of his rarely seen (in some cases, literally unseeable) work from 1963-75. Sept. 18-Nov. 16; Aargauer Kunsthaus Aarau, Switzerland, May 2004-Aug. 2004. -MS