Tom Otterness
Marlborough
Titled “Animal Spirits,” this exhibition consisted of more than 20 of Tom Otterness’s quirky, endearing bronze sculptures of animals and doll-like men sitting or reclining on the floor, along with other works displayed on austere white plinths of varying heights. Each creature—whether pudgy bear, small man, cat, bird, or capybara—told its own story, most often a whimsical take on the vagaries of capitalism. Otterness enjoys a large audience for his work, not simply because he manages to make metal appear cuddly, but alsobecause his mini-fables are so accessible that they reward even those who feel they lack the tools to interpret an artwork. His Cash Cow (2010) is a nearly life-size, streamlined version of either an
udderless cow or a Brahma bull in high heels. The charmingly beady-eyed beast is eating stylized dollar bills while a pile of coins appear below its hindquarters. The stock market and our monetary system are the subjects of Bear Riding Bull (2011), a depiction of a hairless bear wearing a little nipple-like hat atop a Merrill Lynch–type bull, and Bad Wolf (2011), in which two homeless pigs stand by helplessly as the proverbial third pig applies mortar to his brick home. But the large wolf encircling the tiny house is hard to miss; the mortgage papers in his
pocket quickly clue us in to the ominous foreclosure unfolding. The bronzes here varied greatly in size, and their finishes simultaneously absorbed and reflected light. Original sketches of the works, presumably those given to the fabricators of the sculptures, accompanied several of the pieces, illuminating the artist’s process. Though the story being told might not always have a happy ending, Otterness, like an Aesop in a capitalist world, empathizes in his menagerie and delights in the telling of the tale. —Doug McClemont