Tom Otterness, “Zodiac Love” Plaster Sculptures, 1982–87
By Marc H. Miller
With over three dozen major commissions around the world, Tom Otterness is one of the most successful public sculptors living today. In NYC alone he has created more than ten public works including the hugely popular “Life Underground” (2004) on the 14th St. Subway Station platform and the imaginative group installation, “Real World” (1992) in Battery Park City. Gallery 98 is pleased to offer for sale important early works by Otterness from the period when he first forged his mature style and populist art philosophy as a member of the artist group Collaborative Projects Inc. (Colab).
Otterness’s interest in creating art accessible to the general public first manifested itself in the mid-1970s when he sold his works on the street. His goal to create populist art was shared by other artists and one of the most popular features of the influential Time Square Show of 1980 was an artist-run gift shop with low-priced art designed to appeal to non-art audiences. Over the following years Otterness was active in a succession of similar stores organized by Colab. He specialized in small plaster sculptures like the Zodiac plasters for sale here. These were first marketed in Art Direct, a mail order holiday catalogue produced by Colab and Printed Matter Inc. in 1982.
According to Otterness, the Zodiac pieces were first suggested by an acquaintance who owned a botánica in the South Bronx and also operated a small factory that produced decorative plaster statuary for homes and gardens. The idea came from posters popular at the time showing sex positions associated with the signs of the zodiac. Otterness initially used these posters as source material, but later freely improvised and created his own positions and astrological correspondences. The Zodiac series was an open edition but since it was marketed primarily through alternative art venues only a limited number was actually made. All apparently date from before 1987.
Gallery 98 has one complete set of the twelve Zodiac Love plasters. Some Zodiac signs are also available individually.
From the Collection
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Bill Cunningham & DETAILS Magazine, 1982–90
CollectionsFor readers of the weekend style section of the New York Times, Bill Cunningham (1929–2016) was a perennial presence in two of the paper’s most popular weekly picture columns: On the Street, a sharp-eyed compendium of the fashion he encountered on the street; and Evening Hours, a compilation of portraits of society figures at New York philanthropic fund-raisers. -
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Anton Perich’s NIGHT Magazine Studio 54, Club Culture and Art, 1978-79
CollectionsNIGHT was the creation of artist and photographer Anton Perich who, inspired by Andy Warhol’s Interview, made the decision to publish his own magazine using his own money. … -
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Collecting COLAB: Ephemera, Photography & Multiples, 1978–1985
CollectionsCOLAB’s ever-changing nexus of thirty to sixty artists included many who later achieved individual fame, but the group’s real contribution was the philosophy of creative engagement it advanced through collective, do-it-yourself actions. -
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Posthumous Basquiat: Art Ephemera From After August 12, 1988
CollectionsFor serious collectors of art ephemera one important consideration is that items date from when an artist is alive and working. There is a certain logic to this. The best art ephemera chronicles an artist’s career and for most artists very little of significance happens after their death. Jean-Michel Basquiat… -
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Sam Wagstaff and Robert Mapplethorpe
CollectionsWork in Progress… -
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Mary Boone Gallery:A History in Art Ephemera
CollectionsMary Boone’s decision to close her galleries as she gets ready to begin serving a 30-month jail sentence for tax evasion, brings to a halt the storied reign of one of New York’s most public and successful dealers. -
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Fine Arts Photography, Ephemera From Light Gallery, 1971–1987
CollectionsThe rise of photography as an art collectible has largely taken place over the last fifty years and much credit can be given to Light Gallery (1971–87), the first gallery to exclusively represent “artist photographers.”… -
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Colette: On the Streets and in the Clubs, 1972–1985
CollectionsColette worked without inhibition. Acting out an inner-world of fantasies she began making photographic self-portraits, creating soft fabric environments in which she was often a crucial living presence, and exhibiting self-referential hybrid works that combined sculpture, painting, and photography. -
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The Night Time Is The Right Time: N.Y.C. Nightclub Ephemera, 1980s
CollectionsBy the 1980s dozens of new nightclubs and bars including Area, Danceteria, Mudd Club, and Paradise Garage consciously strove to be part of the art world by presenting new music, art, film, video, fashion, and performance. -
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12 Christmas Gifts From Dianne B, Postcard Set 1983, Peter Hujar
CollectionsA recent visit to the Peter Hujar retrospective “Speed of Life” at the Morgan Library and Museum brought to mind a fashion ephemera item in the Gallery 98 collection. The Twelve Perfect Christmas Gifts from Dianne B. (1983) is a mini-portfolio consisting of a decorated cover and twelve postcards, eight… -
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Texas Gallery
CollectionsThanks in part to our new high-visibility website, Gallery 98 is increasingly being approached by artists and galleries who want their history to be part of our ever-expanding collection of art ephemera. Recently, we were fortunate to obtain a large collection of announcement cards from the Texas Gallery, courtesy of its principal owner… -
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No Wave and Independent Film
CollectionsThe No Wave and Independent films produced in downtown New York in the 1970s and 1980s are an intriguing hybrid art form that intermingles music, fashion, performance and visual art.
