Ceal Floyer, RIP

Very sad to hear that Ceal Floyer has died, at the age of 57. 

I just posted one of her editions on Monday, and at the time wondered why I hadn’t seen new work from her for a while. Apparently she had been ill for some time. 

I met her once, at a party thrown by collector Paul Marks (the doctor for the Toronto Raptors). He had purchased the Canadian version of her Monochrome Till Receipt (White). The work consists of a simple grocery store shopping receipt, spray mounted to the wall. 

It’s a still life consisting of a list of items, and a monochrome because everything purchased is white. It’s also a performance and document. 

The project began in 1999 (Tate Britain bought the first), produced in an edition of ten and - if I recall correctly - there was only one available per country. The other eight in the series are American, Japanese, German, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, French, and Swiss. Seven are in private collections. 

Paul flew in Floyer, they went shopping together, and then he hosted a party in his home, in her honour. 

We spoke for less than ten minutes, as it was a busy party. I remember her asking about my friend Mitch Robertson’s work, installed on the floor. 

Her work was conceptual and playful, smart and funny. She made many pieces I wish I owned, and many I wish I had thought of first. 

"Monochrome needs to be produced locally in order to avoid reading it as an exotic curiosity. It counts on its unremarkable outward appearance for its subsequent conceptual transformation.”

- Ceal Floyer

Ceal Floyer | Egg/Chicken

Ceal Floyer

Egg/Chicken

Copenhagen, Denmark:  Niels Borch Jensen Editions, 2005

[no size specified]

Edition of 12 signed and numbered copies

"The multiple Egg/Chicken is a standard office rolodex equipped with index cards displaying nothing but alternating images of a chicken and an egg. The piece references the proverbial causality dilemma which dates back to antiquity – the first written record being Plutarch’s Symposiachs. Aristotle later concluded that the egg/chicken paradox was an infinite sequence with no true origin. Floyer’s employment of the rolodex makes for a convincing illustration of this infinite sequence – one can interact with the work and theoretically spin the rolodex forever without any productive result. At the same time she undermines our perception of the rolodex as a device to store larger amounts of diverse date. Floyer’s rolodex does not provide answers – instead, it poses the same question over and over again.”

- publisher’s statement

Ceal Floyer | Newton’s Cradle

Ceal Floyer

Newton’s Cradle

Berlin, Germany: Self-published, 2017

17 x 13 x 13 cm. (cradle), 123 x 14 x 14 cm. (pedestal), 140 x 14 x 14 cm. (overall)

Edition of 3 [+ 2AP]

Named after Isaac Newton, a Newton’s cradle is a device that demonstrates conservation of momentum and energy using a series of swinging spheres. The device is also known as Newton's pendulum, Newton's balls, Newton's rocker, and Executive Ball Clicker, when they were popular as 'executive' desk toys. 

The first time I encountered one I was thirteen and babysitting for a family in my neighbourhood. The couple was out at a movie, the kids were upstairs asleep, and I was in the basement with popcorn, watching a movie. There was a a Newton’s cradle on their coffee table which I played with over the course of the evening. Inevitably, after testing its limits in a few different ways, the balls became tangled to the degree that I could not untangle them. Given the options of fessing up or hiding it and hoping the kids would be blamed, I took the cowardly option and hid it in a laundry hamper. It was never mentioned again. 

Floyer's Newton's Cradle is in a similar state when purchased. It sits atop a tall plinth, a monument to frustration. 

Ceal Floyer | 36 Frames (String)

Ceal Floyer
36 Frames (String)
Berlin, Germany: Little and Large Editions, 2013
35 mm film in canister
1385 x 35 mm (extended)
Edition of 12 (plus 6 AP)

Available from the publisher, here, for 1200.00 €.

Semicolon Hyphen Bracket

An excellent summer group show opens at MKG127 this Saturday, featuring some of my favorites. Semicolon Hyphen Bracket, curated by Michael Klein, Elle Kurancid and Jennifer Simaitis, includes work by Ceal Floyer, Kay Rosen, Kristiina Lahde, Roula Partheniou, Joy Walker, Laurel Woodcock, Liza Eurich and many others.

Works include Kay Rosen's Sheep in Wolf's Clothing as a wall text, Ceal Floyer's Secret and Roula Partheniou's shelf installation (above) and gallery sign.

The opening reception is Saturday July 6th, from  2-5 PM, 1445 Dundas Street West, Toronto (stop by Art Metropole's sale also, see below).

For more information, visit the gallery site, here.

Ceal Floyer | Glass

Ceal Floyer
Glass
New York City, USA: Rodney Hill Editions, 1997
Clear 7" vinyl record
Edition of 50

Floyer draws connections between the recording, manufacture and playback of a soundwork by producing a clear vinyl record with the sound of the artist running her wine-wet finger along the rim of a wine-glass.

Ceal Floyer | Egg/Chicken

Ceal Floyer
Egg/Chicken
2005
edition 12, signed and numbered.