Blue stone, granite, steel

Sculpture 91.4 x 41.9 x 25.4 cm; Pedestal 96.52 x 43.18 x 43.18 cm

The Reliable is one of Ugo Rondinone’s bluestone sculptures created to complement his 2013 large-scale installation Human Nature at the Rockefeller Center in New York. Since the installation was made to show “something raw within an artificial environment”, The Reliable echoes Rondinone’s sentiments with the contrast between the natural simplicity of the sculpture and the artificial smoothness of its poured concrete pedestals. Beyond the roughness of the cut blocks that make up the sculpture’s human form, the methods of constructing the sculpture are also made obvious to the viewer, as visible traces of work such as drill-holes and split structures are hardly obscured from view. By placing the piece in a controlled and carefully constructed exhibition space, the artist disrupts the enclosed, formal atmosphere of the gallery by introducing a taste of nature in its most authentic and unrefined state.