Episode No. 18 of The Modern Art Notes Podcast features artist Richard Serra.
A retrospective of Serra’s drawings has just opened at its originating institution, The Menil Collection. It will be on view through June 10. The exhibition was previously at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. It was organized by the Menil’s Michelle White and Bernice Rose, and SFMOMA’s Gary Garrels.
The Menil installation results in an exhibition that bears virtually no resemblance to the presentation at the Met. The spaces are more thoughtfully created to emphasize the physicality of the work and they’re better-lit. The show’s narrative is clearer. Just as great: Serra has created a site-specific drawing for the Menil, Two Corner Cut: High Low (2012, see below). White and Serra have installed it in the last gallery of the show — and to me it’s the best work there. It’s the rare, remarkable drawing that leaves a viewer feeling unsteady and disoriented.
Air date: March 8, 2012.

Auguste Rodin, The Thinker, ca. 1880, cast 1904. Collection of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Photo via Flickr user Stephen Rees.