On the ground floor of White Cube New York, David Altmejd’s monumental sculpture ‘The Serpent’ challenges notions of form and meaning.
Constructed as a sequence of interconnected human heads, this serpentine creature comes to life as it rises to meet ‘Snake Charmer,’ its conjurer.
The exhibition, open until April 19, 2025, engages in a dialogue about the relationship between the creator and their work, a recurring theme in Altmejd’s practice.
The Relationship Between Creator and Creature
In ‘The Serpent,’ Altmejd explores the duality between the autonomy of matter and the intention of design. The serpent, formed by a chain of faces, seems to move independently while maintaining a direct connection to ‘Snake Charmer.’ This interaction creates a visual and conceptual play that places the piece within a sculptural tradition questioning the boundaries between the organic and the constructed.
A Dialogue with Contemporary Art
Altmejd’s works have been interpreted within a posthumanist framework, where the human body is fragmented and reconfigured into structures that challenge its own identity. In this sense, ‘The Serpent’ also engages with movements like surrealism and biomorphism, establishing connections with artists who have explored metamorphosis and materiality in their work.
Impact and Reception
Since its opening, the exhibition has garnered critical acclaim for its ability to provoke reflection on sculpture as an ever-evolving process. The tension between idea and matter is a fundamental axis of Altmejd’s work, and in ‘The Serpent,’ it materializes in a piece of great visual and conceptual impact.
The exhibition is on view at White Cube New York until April 19, 2025.mación. La tensión entre la idea y la materia es un eje fundamental de la obra de Altmejd, y en ‘The Serpent’ se materializa en una pieza de gran impacto visual y conceptual.
La exposición puede visitarse en White Cube New York hasta el 19 de abril de 2025.
