From February 26 to May 15, 2010 Untitled (Scatter Piece), 1968-69, by Robert Morris will be on view at Leo Castelli Gallery.
Untitled (Scatter Piece), 1968-69 consists of 200 elements that Mr. Morris fabricated specifically for thsi work. 100 elements are amde from six metals (zinc, copper, brass, steel, aluminum and lead) of different shapes and dimensions. As Jeffrey Weiss writes: "The sets are generated according to chance calculations originally determined by coin toss plus numbers randomly selected from the New York City telephone directory (although the system is inconsistently applied); these govern the length, width, thickness, and number of bends (0, 1, or 2) for each unit." The other 100 pieces are felt cut so that each piece of felt corresponds to the shape and size of a counterpart in metal. The 200 elements are then "scattered" on the floor, again, in a seeming random matter.
Untitled (Scatter Piece) was created on the occasion of Robert Morris' exhibition at the Leo Castelli Gallery in 1969. Mr. Morris exhibited three other works at the same time as Untitled (Scatter Piece). Sharing the space with Scatter Piece at the Castelli Warehouse was Continuous Project Altered Daily, in which for three weeks the visitors were allowed to observe the artist as he created the work. The other two works were exhibited at Leo Castelli on 77th Street and included Untitled (Threadwaste), now in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York and another work Untitled that consisted of metal and felt elements on the floor. The exhibition of these four pieces drastically changed the landscape of contemporary art during that time period.
Untitled (Scatter Piece), was accidentally disposed of shortly after it was first exhibited. Mr Morris refabricated the work on the basis of the nine original drawings that contain the specifications for each element. These drawings will also be exhibited for the first time.