NORMAN MOONEY, “WALL FLOWERS”
Causey Contemporary 92 Wythe Ave., through 4/13
Causey Contemporary unveiled its vast new location with Norman Mooney’s show of five geometric sculptures that combine industrial brawniness with floral daintiness. Three freestanding constructions called “Windseeds” resemble white pollen grains from a distance and appear as though a gentle gust would send them tumbling toward McCarren Park. Up close, however, their sharp aluminum projections make you fear for your safety. All the sculptures, in fact, elicit this anxiety; touch them the wrong way and you will bleed.
“Wall Flower No.1,” a starburst of yellow aluminum blades, allures you toward its core like a thirsty bumblebee before you jump back from its snarl of prickly metal. The dark-red “Wall Flower No. 2” seems somewhat less menacing simply by the nature of its material: translucent resin. In this piece, Mooney has arranged the projections in a more intricate pattern, jutting out from the center then receding at the periphery. This creates an optical illusion in which the spikes at the edges appear to wiggle as you stare at the midpoint. Simplicity of form belies complex emotional power in Mooney’s sculptures—danger and delicacy coexist harmoniously and manufactured materials imitate natural wonders.
