AK126 (Primary Title)
Alain Kirili, American, born 1946 (Artist)
Fifty Works for Fifty States: In 2008, in a unique partnership with the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the Vogels distributed twenty-five hundred works across the country, giving fifty works to one art museum in each of the fifty states. This exhibition, The Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection: Fifty Works for Fifty States, showcases the fifty works VMFA received as part of that initiative, which bears the same title. As a diverse and rich body of work, the Vogels' generous giftattests to their passion and commitment to sharing contemporary art with the public.
Alain Kirili Born in France, Kirili first traveled to the United States in the 1960s, and by the late 1970s, he had established studios in both Paris and New York. For his Commandment series, begun in 1980, Kirili produced groups of small, vertical structures made of forged iron placed directly on the floor. Each form appears to be an ambiguous sign, akin to Hebrew letters or Egyptian hieroglyphs. His studies for the series, AK102 and AK126, use charcoal to convey the weight of the objects while the smudges contribute to their mysterious presence. Kirili frequently relates his sculptures to text and explains, "I perceive myself, in some ways, as a calligraphic sculptor." These three-dimensional gestures, however, do not translate into any particular language, thus they remain enigmatic symbols.
Some object records are not complete and do not reflect VMFA's full and current knowledge. VMFA makes routine updates as records are reviewed and enhanced.