Could the Rochester Art Center be aiming to become the Walker Art Center of southern Minnesota? This exhibition of eleven recent works by Manglano-Ovalle, many of them made in the last year, is certainly some kind of coup. The Madrid-born artist uses scientific data and cutting-edge technologies to create minimalist pieces that, conceptually, are quite complex. In the main gallery are three works dealing with natural forces: scale models of an iceberg and a cumulo-nimbus thundercloud, as well as Random Sky, a projection generated in real time from data gathered by a mini-weather station set up right in the room. Playing off those large-scale works is a trio of smaller pieces centered on the human individual; one involves the DNA of an anonymous volunteer, another the artist’s own fist, and the third, his child dozing in a crib. Taken all together, these pieces generate a host of ideas about man and nature (and human nature), borders and boundaries, time and transition, systems and the scientific method. 40 Civic Center Dr. S.E., Rochester; 507-282-8629; www.rochesterartcenter.org
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