XtraD, an exhibition of metal sculptures and designs by Haresh Lalvani, opens at Buck House, 1318 Madison Avenue, on April 6 through April 29, 2011. Collaborating with the Brooklyn-based MILGO/BUFKIN, one of the foremost fabricators of custom architectural metals and fine art sculpture in the world, Lalvani’s exhibition is divided into two major series, AlgoRhythms and Xurf.

“I am excited to present Haresh Lalvani’s groundbreaking work,” said Deborah Buck, who met the artist at Pratt Institute, where he is a tenured professor of Architecture, and where she and Bruce Gitlin, the CEO of MILGO/BUFKIN, are Trustees. “In his effort to generate a new language of art and design, Lalvani’s work takes on a mysterious and powerful quality, engaging the observer both visually and intellectually. His precise vision is reflected in all of his work; from the smallest vase to the floor-to-ceiling sculptural installations.”

“Every piece is an experiment, and teaches us something about the fundamental nature of form,  space, material and process,” said the New York-based artist, known worldwide for his morphological, structural, and design innovations. In nature these are one. We are heading in this direction, a small step at a time.”

AlgoRhythms

The AlgoRhythms series continues the artist’s longstanding artistic tradition of exploring the human
condition, and in particular, the human relationship with nature and high technology. The works reveal
curvilinear forms derived from the same principles that create the flows of nature and based on a genetic code.

These forms self-adjust according to their movements and are realized in metal by innovative
laser cutting and water-jet technology.

Xurf

While the AlgoRhythms series apply pure mathematics to surfaces, Xurf introduces force, thereby adding physics to mathematics. Rather than emerging from predetermined computations, forms emerge from controlled physical encounters, making the process an integral part of the finished pieces themselves. Pieces become self-shaping and self-stabilizing, as they find their own centers of gravity, generating curved surfaces untouched by human hands in most cases.

“Having worked for several decades with leading sculptors and architects, we find that Lalvani’s work
has required us to push the limits of forming and fabricating,” said Bruce Gitlin. whose company has
worked with top contemporary artists such as Robert Indiana, Donald Judd, and Frank Stella.

Buck House is a design gallery/lab featuring fine and decorative arts from the 18th Century to the
present. Deborah Buck, an artist in her own right, founded her Carnegie Hill gallery in 2001. She travels the globe extensively and is recognized for her ever-changing, fluid, edgy, and irreverent take on art and design.

About the Artist
The Indian-born Haresh Lalvani is a tenured professor of Architecture at Pratt Institute where he has influenced generations of students. Lalvani holds a Ph.D. in Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania and has worked at NASA-Langley Research Center on space applications and at Computer Graphics Laboratory, NYIT, on computer animations. He serves on the editorial board of Space Structures (France), and is the author of two books, Transpolyhedra (1976) and Structures on Hyper-Structures (1981). An award recipient from NYSTAR, the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in Fine Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Institute for Architectural Education. Lalvani received the Pioneers’ Award from the Space Structures Research Center, University of Surrey, U.K. in 2002. Lalvani continues to combine his love of art and mathematics in his search for the architectural genome and his efforts to generate new languages of art and design. His AlgoRhythm Columns, in folded titanium, are in the permanent design collection at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York.

About MILGO/BUFKIN
A family owned business for four generations, MILGO/BUFKIN has more than 94 years of
experience fabricating fine metalwork that has been a major part of the buildings that transform
the skyline of New York and other cities throughout the country and around the world.
MILGO/BUFKIN’s signature metal work stands out everywhere, from contemporary banks, to
sculptures in museums, private collections, buildings, glittering metal canopies, and entrances
and interiors.