The Artist Whose Shimmering Obelisks Are Cropping Up Around the World
When I learned that Gisela Colón was having a retrospective at Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico (MAC), I leapt at the chance to check it out. I knew that I felt deeply conflicted about her work, and thought the survey would offer a chance to sort out my thoughts. Before arriving in San Juan, I’d only seen her glittering, monumental obelisks shown in isolation, one at a time. It’s easy to see why they get shown that way: they have this commanding presence and can really hold their own. At the Great Pyramids of Giza, her arched, golden globule sat near a sphinx similar in size and color, and recently, her silvery, iridescent spire towered over the Arabian desert. Related Articles These “monoliths,” as she calls them, are undeniably stunning; she’s been making them since 1996. I find that, when I’m around one, it’s hard to look at anything else. Their colors change as you move around them to a degree that her Minimalist, phenomenology-pilled predecessors could have never achieved: The 50-year-old artist …
