For his commission at SculptureCenter, Rafael Domenech creates a large-scale modular installation in the ground floor gallery. Responding to the conditions of the exhibition space as a former trolley repair shop, Domenech uses the building’s existing structure, in particular the tracks of an industrial gantry system, as a machine to produce and facilitate the work. Working with materials typically destined for construction sites, the work engages with the urban vernacular of the rapidly growing neighborhood of Long Island City. Depending on the time and purpose of encounter with Domenech’s exhibition, the installation functions simultaneously at multiple levels: as a sculpture, a decentered architectural model, a pavilion, and a venue for public programs and gatherings.

Domenech’s publication, produced in conjunction with his exhibition, looks at how semantic and physical architectures create contemporary art’s institutional context. Its primary essay, Work of art in the age of codes and regulations, is an attempt to capture some of the main concerns and suggestions of the artist’s work.

A signed, limited number of hand-stitched books are available in a custom plywood case produced by Domenech. A larger print run of the book is also available in softcover and the publication is available for free download here.

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