Iran do Espírito Santo Restless 20 2004
Iran do Espírito Santo has been active since the 1980s and works in a variety of media and materials, including sculpture, wall painting, and installation. His work frequently questions the relationship between object and image, actuality and representation, and often has a direct physical relationship to the site in which it appears. Light, transparency, and reflection are frequent subtexts in his work. Though he has developed his own personal vocabulary of impeccably fabricated forms and materials, Espírito Santo’s work is rooted in—and makes clear reference to—minimalism, Concrete art, Pop art, and Conceptual art.
Restless 20 and Restless 21 are a proposed reformulation of two works from his “Restless” series (1999–2007). Each element is made from a single piece of glass that has been cut and treated in order to appear as several overlapping sheets of glass. Espirito Santo uses mirroring and sandblasting to give sections of each glass sheet different qualities of reflection and transparency. Placed on the floor and leaning against the wall, the two pieces look like a series of glass panes, mirrors, and monochrome canvases awaiting installation. Only upon closer inspection do we realize that they are—in a sense—“paintings,” as much illusion as material.
Identification
Title
Restless 20
Production Date
2004
Object Number
2011.64
Credit Line
Collection Pérez Art Museum Miami, museum purchase with funds provided by PAMM’s Collectors Council
Copyright
© Iran do Espírito Santo
https://www.pamm.org/en/artwork/2011.64
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Physical Qualities
Medium
Sandblasted glass and mirror
Dimensions
18 x 87 inches
Visual Description
Restless 20 by artist Iran do Espiritu Santo is a sculpture made in 2004. It measures 1.5 feet by 7.25 feet and rests on the floor and leans against the wall in portrait orientation, meaning the shortest side runs parallel to the floor.This sculpture is a mix of minimalism and conceptual art. Minimalism is a style of art that focuses on simplistic abstract art while conceptual art focuses on the idea/concept presented by the artist.Restless 20 is a sculpture made out of a single piece of glass that’s been cut and treated in order to appear as four overlapping sheets of glass. The glass is found nestled in the corner of the gallery room. Starting from front to back, describing each one as if they were individual pieces of glass but in fact aren’t, we have a sheet of glass that runs almost the whole length of the piece but stops a few inches before the edge on the right side. The height of this first layer is about two thirds of the full height of the sculpture. It’s been treated in a way that turns it into a mirror- in the reflection we see the wall, floor, and the diagonal edge where they both meet. Working our way back, there is another section of glass that appears to be behind it. This second layer is about two thirds of the length of the first layer and climbs up and reaches a little past the three-quarter mark of the height of the entire sculpture. This section of the glass doesn’t appear to be treated. Since it’s see-through, one could see a faint vertical line where the two walls meet. Behind this layer is the third section. The length of this layer falls right in between the length of layer one and two and is the full height of the sculpture. This third layer of glass has been treated in a way where it appears to be foggy, making the glass look a little darker compared to the rest of the sculpture. Behind this one is the final fourth layer. It takes up the full length of the sculpture and the height falls a couple of inches below the second layer. This section of glass is similar to the second section in that it does not appear to be treated, making it see through. Through this fourth glass section we see a little bit of the floor, the wall, and the horizontal edge where they both meet.
