Bruce Nauman

Donald Young Gallery is pleased to announce an exhibition of new work by Bruce Nauman with three major fountain sculptures and drawings.

One Hundred Fish Fountain is comprised of 97 fish, cast in bronze, which hang by wires from a suspended metal grid. Water, from a large basin on the floor, is pumped through clear tubing to the fish and sprays out of the their bodies in all directions from hundreds of randomly punctured holes. The fountain runs on a scheduled timer so that the viewer witnesses the jolting sound and movement as the fish fill with water as well as the silence when the pumps are turned off followed by the water slowly trickling out of each fish. In a second gallery are two fountains entitled 3 Heads Fountain (3 Andrews) and 3 Heads Fountain (Juliet, Andrew, Rinde) each of which consists of three epoxy resin and fiberglass heads wired together with water spraying from the many holes.

Within each of the fountains there is a sense of violence and violation. The fish are removed from their natural habitat, cast in bronze and punctured with holes. The harsh treatment of these fish is reminiscent of Nauman's skinned animal series from the late 1980s. The intense noise of the water splashing in the basin, paired with the visual enormity of the 97 fish and the thickness of the humid air creates a multi-sensory experience that is both aggressive and overpowering.

The sight of the fish connected to water pumps, almost like an IV, is surreal and beautiful at the same time. This analogy in terms of an IV and hose is made even more apparent with the severed head fountains where it is as if vital liquid is being pumped into the heads only to escape once again through the punctured holes. When stopped, the dripping water has a powerful reference to the human condition and a feeling of loss. The heads were first seen in Nauman's work in 1989.

The idea of the fountain dates back to his early work of the 1960s such as Self-Portrait as a Fountain and more recently in the early 1990s with a fountain made of cast bronze foxes. The reference of the fish dates back to Nauman's early film piece from 1966 Fishing for an Asian Carp but also refers to personal memories of the artist growing up in the Midwest and fishing with his father on Lake Michigan. From this, came his choice of using only fresh water fish from the lake: salmon; whitefish; bass and catfish.

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Bruce Nauman