2014 Catalogue Archive

The Voynich Manuscript is a 16th-century document containing numerous botanical illustrations that remains undeciphered to this day. The document, which is still being debated for being too fantastical, serves as the source for Ruperto and Heltoft’s series, Voynich Botanical Studies. In Specimen 23r Jaro, the artists collaborate by modeling an illustration through 3D software. The digital image is then photographed onto a 4×5 negative and developed as a silver gelatin print. The final work appears as a magical and imaginative botanical study. This series was recently included in the 2014 Whitney Biennial. Ruperto lives and works in Los Angeles. Recent solo exhibitions for Ruperto include: Koenig & Clinton, New York; Thomas Solomon Gallery, Los Angeles; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; and Ke Center for Contemporary Arts, Shanghai. Heltoft lives and works in Copenhagen. Recent solo exhibitions for Heltoft include Andersen’s Contemporary Gallery, Copenhagen; Secession, Vienna; Galeria Raucci Santamaria, Naples; CPH Kunsthal, Copenhagen; and Galleri Image, Aarhus.