Shows of new sculpture by American artist Jordan Wolfson are rare—his technology-intensive works can take a long time to make and are reliably unmissable. His latest, Body Sculpture, 2023, is a metal cube with animatronic arms and mesmerizing, slightly oversize hands, choreographed to perform uncanny, humanlike gestures in a complex presentation. Six years in production, it had its world premiere in, of all places, Canberra, the unassuming capital city of Australia, known for seeming strangely insular despite its political connection to global affairs. Shrewdly commissioned by the National Gallery of Australia in 2019, when it was still an idea in development, Wolfson’s latest razzle-dazzle corresponds somehow to this locale; his most inward-looking work, its cultural quotations are met with transfixing moments of self-absorption.
Reminiscent of Donald Judd’s boxlike work, but flaunting the rivets of its construction and a Rorschach-like patina from previous performances, the cube is first seen suspended from a chain above a stage, controlled by a robotic gripper (similar to those used in automobile manufacturing) on an overhead horizontal track. After a leaden click, the cube’s arms move up as if to signal “Stop,” “Enough,” or “I surrender,” with the gentle intentionality of a tai chi practitioner. For those familiar with Wolfson’s pointedly provocative works (Female figure), 2014, and Colored Sculpture, 2016—which form a trilogy with this piece, all produced with world-leading roboticist Mark Setrakian—what is at first surprising about Body Sculpture is its calm. The chain slowly descends, and the cube’s hands make soft contact with the platform—a birthing scene, the moment when sculpture first shares gravity with its contextual ground.