ONE (3 Infinities)
ONE (3 Infinities) is a masterful example from O’Doherty’s Ogham series, named after an ancient Celtic language whose logical, abstract qualities hold great appeal for the artist. ONE is covered in shiny aluminum into which O’Doherty has scored a series of parallel lines that correspond to letters from the Ogham alphabet, specifically "o," "n," and "e." Even if viewers were fluent in Ogham, however, they would be hard-pressed to comprehend the word, which dissolves in a maze of reflections. The same illusory experience applies to viewers as they move around the sculpture— their mirror images disappear when they should appear and appear where they should not. Thanks to O’Doherty’s canny intervention, both language and perception are made hallucinatory and ambiguous.
Artwork Details
- Title: ONE (3 Infinities)
- Artist: Brian O'Doherty (Irish, Ballaghaderreen 1928–2022 New York)
- Date: 1970
- Medium: Aluminum on wood
- Dimensions: 71 15/16 × 8 7/16 × 4 1/8 in., 14.6 lb. (182.8 × 21.5 × 10.5 cm, 6.6 kg)
- Classification: Sculpture
- Credit Line: Purchase, Bequest of Gioconda King, by exchange, 2019
- Object Number: 2019.108
- Rights and Reproduction: Courtesy of the artist and Simone Subal Gallery. © Brian O'Doherty. All rights reserved.
- Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art
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