View of Justin Matherly’s exhibition “All industrious people,” 2013. Courtesy Paula Cooper.
New York-based artist Justin Matherly has never been to Nemrud Dagi, the archeological site in Turkey that he attempts to re-create in this quirky and arresting show. But it doesn’t matter. The large, artfully pixelated photos of the excavation-some hung on the wall sideways-quietly evoke the scene. A massive concrete reimaging of an ancient stone relief from the site, by contrast, commands the center of the room with unapologetic aplomb. Scarred on the back with imprints of Dow Chemical bags, and set atop dozens of shiny metal walkers, the hulking sculpture suggests a rather profound statement about time-slow and deliberate.