Wave, 2024, Wood fired clay, 17 x 13 x 4 inches
HAROLD WORTSMAN
Shapes for the Future, Traces of the Past
Paris Koh Fine Arts, NJ
by Jonathan Goodman, May 15. 2025
...a reading of the present backed by the past and also facing the future...
Brooklyn based artist Harold Wortsman is currently showing some thirty sculptures at Paris Koh Fine Arts, just beyond the New Jersey exit of the George Washington Bridge. The gallery is located in Fort Lee and provides a nice space for a solo show. Wortsman studied sculpture both at Brandeis University and at the New York Studio School. But he has kept his independence as a first priority, making work that begins with blunt visual elements active millennia ago. His primary medium of choice is fired clay. Despite the fundamentally intuitive nature of his art, Wortsman references traditions from the past to the present.
But for all his historical reckoning, Worstman is an artist of the moment, establishing his gifts as discoveries for the future as well as pressing home the attractions of the present.
The different cultural histories informing Wortsman’s work add to the depth of experience, a gift to present day audiences who may not be as cognizant of the past that the artist borrows from. But, at the same time, it is clear that Wortsman remains himself firmly rooted in the present, this despite the pressures on his authenticity that his borrowings may bring. What really counts is fidelity to themes we see suggested by his art. As time goes on, it is clear that Wortsman will slowly but surely create a body of sculpture anchored by his relation to the past but also to the promise of the future.
You can see this mixed handling of historical time shown throughout. The present however mysteriously hovers just above the works. Glyphs unreadable to us and likely to the artist himself, spell out facsimiles of archaic writing. Other forms include irregularly shaped patches of color. They are sometimes embedded in the surface of the clay, and sometimes are used as a surface treatment.
2 + 1 = 0, 2024, Wood fired clay plus sand, 14 x 8 x 3.5 inches
Ghostly Apparition, 2023, High fired clay pigmented with oxides, 12.5 x 7 x 6 inches
In addition to the tumultuous markings on the surface of the pieces, the works separate out into two categories: flat wall reliefs and three dimensional sculptural forms. The latter dominate the show, which is beautifully arranged within the space by gallerist Paris Koh. The space is comfortably sized but not large – Koh has turned it into a small museum. The flat reliefs are arranged on the wall in rows while the sculptures are often set on pedestals. One wall is painted a dark gray, and the floor in front of it is covered with round stones.
By setting the works in a museum-like atmosphere, Koh emphasizes the notion of historical time and the works’ embrace of the past. But, even so, the effort escapes a historical reading alone. Cracks and controlled breaks suggest the present’s affection for a ruinous vision, in which the vulnerability of the fired clay also turns permanent as shards of clay will. These works are visionary traces of a grand overview just beyond our reach.
The gravitas of Koh’s brilliant pictorial arrangement suggests its own history. History can dignify culture, but it can also smother it. Time is a factor in our awareness of art, but too often we forget the absolute immediacy of the present and its ability to keep us focused on what is in hand.
Existing simultaneously in several worlds at once –historically, stylistically, and thematically – Wortsman can invest his creative works with remarkable energy. Maybe, then, that is the best way to see Wortsman’s show–as a reading of the present backed by the past and also facing the future. The present, always with us, evades clarification. But the sculptures we see stand out clearly. The artist must look back because that is what he does. But these sculptures do not exist in memory only. They hint at the future. By organizing a different relation to time, the artist makes it wonderfully clear that the present remains urgent and redemptive.
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Harold Wortsman: Shapes for the Future, Traces of the Past
Paris Koh Fine Arts: 201 Bridge Plaza North, Suite 1, Fort Lee, NJ
The exhibition is on view through Friday, May 30, 2025