Unit Structures

‘Unit Structures’ is a group exhibition I curated.

Through the concept of ‘unit structure’, proposed by improvisational jazz musician Cecil Taylor in the 1960s, the exhibition aimed to confront dominant considerations of geometric abstraction from a nostalgic perspective. The notion of ‘unit structure’ allowed for an investigation of geometric forms as the basis of exercises in improvisation and adaptation.

Production of and reflection on geometrical and constructive language in contemporary art has dramatically increased in recent years. The notion of ‘unit structure’ was chosen in an attempt to offer an alternative and original consideration of this type of language, which is normally understood in terms of simple appropriation of a historical language. It also attempted to propose a new political perspective on these artworks as a direct response to the nostalgic and depoliticised view offered by conventional readings.