Exhibitions
Charles Ray and sculpture as a contemporary enigma
Between April 18 and June 13, 2026, the work of sculptor Charles Ray unfolds in a double exhibition that engages in a dialogue between past and present. Divided between the Matthew Marks Gallery and the Jeffrey Deitch Gallery, the exhibition brings together both new works and emblematic pieces that have marked the artist's career.
Matthew Marks presents three recent sculptures that demonstrate the intensity and rigor of Ray's creative process. Fallen Horse (2025) stands out, a work on which the artist has worked for almost a decade. The sculpture depicts a life-size horse lying on a granite base carved from a single block, creating a quiet tension between weight, material, and vulnerability.
Alongside it, The Animation of Pandora (2026) introduces a mythological dimension: three larger-than-life figures, made of white-painted bronze, reinterpret the Greek myth of Pandora, the first woman created by the gods. The work oscillates between the classical and the unsettling, a recurring characteristic in Ray's practice.
Charles Ray, The Animation of Pandora, 2026.
Meanwhile, Jeffrey Deitch is exhibiting two of the most iconic—and least seen—sculptures from his early work. Firetruck (1993), on loan from The Broad, transforms a toy truck into a life-size object, challenging the perception of the childlike and the monumental. In contrast, Pepto-Bismol in a Marble Box (1988) encapsulates a conceptual gesture: a white marble box containing the bright pink liquid of the well-known medication, creating a clash between the classical and the banal.
Born in 1953, Charles Ray lives and works in Los Angeles and is considered one of the most influential contemporary sculptors. His work has been featured in major international exhibitions such as Documenta, the Venice Biennale (three times), and the Whitney Biennial (five times). His career has also been the subject of significant retrospectives at institutions including the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Kunstmuseum Basel, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Centre Pompidou, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
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