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NEW YORK POST, SATURDAY, JANUARY 6, 1968

Richard Artschwager takes sections of wood burls, baroque and highly charged with violent moving forms, and with great precision photographs them on Formica surfaces. He then tools the Formica into hard-edged rectilinear sculptures that are microcosms of all the ornate furniture we've seen in those past Victorian mansions that are monuments of splendor and vulgarity. 

Artschwager's pieces are either a diluted Chinese blue or a soft wood brown. Unlike much "minimal art," these pieces are meticulously hand-made and expertly carpentered into strange box-like forms with recessed niches. Then he makes folding screens of large panels. Some in more familiar sculptural forms are attached to walls like ledges. Undoubtedly they owe their origins to the artist's experiences in furniture making, his fascination with the wild forms of wood burls tightly controlled in geometric shapes. 

Generally the pieces reflect a social commentary in the mood of Oldenburg's "Bedroom," which Artschwager was supposed to have suggested to him. 

Where the artist will go from here is the important question. Right now he seems to have struck an original vein and seems to be testing the material of his art. 

Leo Castelli Gallery, 4 E. 77th St.

Charlotte Willard, author.

Transcription Notes:
Top date is smudged, but January 6 was a Saturday in 1968