Josiah McElheny (*1966 in Boston) explores the representation of time and space through the medium of glass, one of the oldest forms of object making in human history. Inspired by the design objects of daily life, such as glassware or chandeliers, he develops abstract sculptures and complex installations. This publication features examples of his work from the past fifteen years, and in particular it traces the artist’s investigation of the concept of infinity, which he links to thinking about utopia. For instance, infinity is used as a constant in mathematical equations that allow scientists to speculate about things and phenomena unseen, just as utopia is a historical construct that permits unrealized yet aspirational activities. McElheny unfolds this intellectual matrix by pairing the futuristic ideas of theorist R. Buckminster Fuller with the mid-century sensuality of artist Isamu Noguchi, or by working with scientists to make accurate representations of the Big Bang.
 
Exhibition schedule: Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, June 22–October 14, 2012