Barbara Kasten

Barbara Kasten
Stages [link]
Madlener House, Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts
Chicago, IL
October 1, 2015–January 9, 2016

The historic Madlener House conjures, and transforms, established opinions about architecture for art institutions–nostalgia is consistently, pervasively present. Concurrent with the city’s Architecture Biennial, the Graham hosts Kasten, an artist conceptualizing designed spaces through meticulous arrangements of form and light, resulting in abstracted investigations unmistakably her own. An extensive archival dig, Stages unearths cyanotypes, paintings, and set designs for which Kasten has, until now, generally lacked attention. Most revealing is her Seated Form series (1972), handwoven chair constructions alongside diazotypes depicting bare female bodies, referencing the artist’s often forgotten history with fiber.

~ Lauren Fulton
images by RCH | EKH, courtesy of the Graham Foundation