JACK GOLDSTEIN

From 1976 until 1984, Goldstein made a number of singular works that focused on spectacle and the cinematic. Burning Window (1977) is the most iconic installation. In it Goldstein created a relationship between the viewer and the object that is defined by distance rather than immersion.

This spectacle, which may be felt ambiguously both “real” and as a “cinematic” illusion, calls into question the “truth” of visual experience. – Jack Goldstein

Writing was always a part of Goldstein’s practice. In 1982 Goldstein participated in documenta 7, he included a series of writings on his artist page in the catalogue. He called them Aphorisms, considering them visual language. They would appear in his 1985 exhibition at Städtische Galerie Erlangen. This time text was set in black Helvetica with specific words in each line in red. The Aphorisms became works that shifted from book to wall and back again, the same way Goldstein wanted to turn thought into something tangible and then back to a thought.

Jack Goldstein (1945 – 2003) was born in Canada and lived in the United States. His work has been exhibited in the United States and internationally including major exhibitions: Gwangju Biennale, 2014; La Biennale di Venezia, 2011; Whitney Biennial, 1985; documenta 8, 1985 and documenta 7, 1982. Major solo exhibitions include: The Jewish Museum, New York, 2013; Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, 2012; MMK Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt, 2009; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, 2002; Magasin, Centre National d’Art Contemporain, Grenoble, 2002; Künstlerhaus, Stuttgart, 1999; The Power Plant, Toronto, 1991; Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, 1988; Städtische Galerie Erlangen, 1985 and The Kitchen, New York, 1977, 1978 and 1980.