NEWS: Albert Paley’s “Soliloquy” installed at MAG

Albert Paley’s monumental work, “Soliloquy,” the fourth and
final of the recent major commissions for the Memorial Art Gallery’s Centennial
Sculpture Garden, was installed Tuesday morning. The artist says that the
25-foot-tall, site-specific sculpture’s title makes reference to the MAG as a
cultural institution, and the fact that when individuals respond to artwork —
be it music or visual art — an introspective, internal dialogue takes place
that hopefully has a transformative aspect to it.

The soaring, multicolored, steel work greets visitors as
they approach the North Goodman entrance to the MAG’s campus. The form is
dynamic from all sides, characterized by Paley’s love of integrating opposites,
and of combining the grounded forms with those that allude to the ephemeral. Here,
a silver geometric base is wrapped with vibrant organic forms. Green and yellow
foliage fronds encircle the central structure, a red sphere resembles a rising
or setting sun, and a blue, rippled ribbon form with a fascinating illusion of
weightlessness seems ready to float away into the clear autumn air.

The colorful nature of the piece is sure to be an even more
welcome sight when the trees have shed their own hues, and the winter
white-washes and grays settle over us.

“Soliloquy” joins the previously installed Sculpture Park works
by Jackie Ferrara, Tom Otterness, and Rochester’s
Wendell Castle, among other works acquired in years past. “I’m proud that two
of the four artists chosen are such iconic figures in Rochester’s history, who
are highly respected artists by us and by the world,” says MAG Director Grant
Holcomb, adding that it is a “privilege and an honor” for MAG’s two entrances
to be marked by the works of Paley and Castle.

Paley’s sculpture is ringed by stone seating and will be
surrounded by flowers and plants in warmer weather. The artist says he thinks
of the space as having a “foyer function” for the MAG, in that it will provide
a peaceful place to stop and rest before and after visiting the gallery.

MAG’s Centennial celebration continues with “Memory Theatre,”
an exhibition that opens on October 6 and continues through December 29. For
more information and updates, visit mag.rochester.edu.

This article appears in Sep 18-24, 2013.