(all work by Michael Portnoy), Three moves away from palaver, 2008. Mirror, mirror polished aluminum, aluminum honeycomb panel, MDF, wool felt. In his altitudes, or, A drunken man that pisses under the table into his companionos shoes_, 2008. Porcelain, wood, paint, pump, plastic tubing, whiskey._Tongue Pit Schematic Dice, 2008. Sub-surface laser engraved optical crystals. Tongue Pit (Linguistic Table), 2008. Black sand, lacquered and rubberized wood, rope. Photo: Jason Mandella . Courtesy of SculptureCenter and the artist.
Michael Portnoy, Casino Ilinx
Sculpture Center
44 Purves Street, 718-361-1750
Long Island City
May 4 - July 28, 2008
Web Site
Installed in SculptureCenter’s lower galleries, Michael Portnoy’s first US solo exhibition Casino Ilinx builds on his recent series of abstract gambling tables. Described by the sociologist Roger Caillois, ilinx is a category of play that involves “the attempt to momentarily destroy the stability of perception and inflict a kind of voluptuous panic upon an otherwise lucid mind.” Employing sculpture, installation, and moments of ritualistic gaming, Casino Ilinx sets the stage for experimentation with sense, non-sense, and authority.
