Studio Visit: Selected Gifts from Agnes Gund

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Robert Smithson. Corner Mirror with Coral. 1969

Mirrors and coral, 36 x 36 x 36" (91.5 x 91.5 x 91.5 cm). Gift of Agnes Gund in honor of Ann Temkin

Curatorial, Ann Temkin: Robert Smithson is best known for his mammoth earthwork Spiral Jetty in Utah; he also uses natural materials like rocks, dirt and in this case coral, in smaller works of art.

Agnes Gund: I always like the Smithsons that are, mirrored things. Obviously they're very captivating and they show another dimension you see out differently when you have a mirror. A mirror makes it bigger, smaller, taller, higher, taller, whatever. But I think Smithson's idea of putting heaps of things there and having them reflected, it was quite wonderful.

The coral, It's sort of alive still. You know, I always think of those things as alive, even though I know they're dying by the, day.

It's good to have a Smithson because it gives you a whole another look. And you want to think about it. So, this makes you think about it.