By Kiša Lala
Photo by Peter Hujar, Paul Thek in the Palermo Catacombs, 1963 (reproduced from the original negative, 2010). © 1987 The Peter Hujar Archive LLC; courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery, New York
Charles LeDray’s works at the Whitney Museum are that of an obsessive-compulsive genius who has created a universe in the miniature. Inside a glass display are stacks of porcelain vases, 2000 of them, each individually shaped from a potter’s wheel to replicate styles of pottery throughout history. The display (Milk and Honey) is mind-boggling not only in its sheer collective power but because they are all of diminutive scale and perfectly described in their miniaturized detail.
The most arresting artworks from the show are tiny sculptures – ‘ivory’ buttons, a strand of wheat (made to 1:1 scale) and a vertical column of stacked chairs, all of which appear captivating for their precision and virtuosity alone, until one realizes they are also made of human bone – the source of which the artist is apparently reluctant to divulge.
Charles LeDray (b. 1960), Ring Finger, 2004. Ivory, gold, 1 x 5 1/8 x 1 inches (2.5 x 13 x 2.5 cm) Collection of Robin Wright and Ian Reeves. Photograph by Tom Powel. Courtesy of Sperone Westwater
