Robert Therrien: A Giant in the World of Giant Art
Why It Matters
The exhibition reintroduces a pivotal yet overlooked sculptor whose manipulation of scale reshapes viewers’ relationship to everyday objects, offering fresh insights for collectors, curators, and the broader cultural conversation.
Key Takeaways
- •Robert Therrien’s oversized furniture evokes personal memory and scale.
- •Retrospective at the Broad highlights his under‑recognized influence in L.A. art.
- •Works blend everyday objects with disorienting, vertigo‑inducing installations.
- •Therrien avoided explicit narratives, letting viewers construct their own stories.
- •Estate managed by longtime collaborators ensures his legacy’s continued visibility.
Summary
The Broad Museum in Los Angeles is mounting a retrospective titled “Disappearing Act” that surveys the career of Robert Therrien, a Los‑Angeles‑born sculptor whose monumental enlargements of ordinary objects made him a quiet giant of the 1970s‑2000s art world.
Therrien’s signature strategy was to take familiar items—folding tables, chairs, dishes—and amplify them to a scale that triggers both recognition and disorientation. By preserving the same materials and construction methods, he created a “sweet spot” where viewers recall personal memories while confronting an altered spatial experience, often inducing a vertigo‑like sensation.
Curator Ed Chad notes the work’s narrative ambiguity, likening it to a puzzle that never fully resolves. Highlights include a towering stack of oversized dishes that seem poised to tumble and a gigantic folding table that feels both domestic and alien. A discovered note revealing Therrien’s favorite film, *Vertigo*, underscores his intentional manipulation of perception.
The show repositions Therrien from a niche figure to a touchstone for contemporary sculpture, reminding collectors and institutions of the commercial and critical value of artists who interrogate everyday objects. With his estate now overseen by longtime collaborators Dean Ames and Paul Cherwick, the exhibition ensures his legacy will influence future generations of makers.
Comments
Want to join the conversation?
Loading comments...