Helga Natz at Arnaud Lefebvre

Helga Natz, an artist born in Germany, has been exhibiting internationally for 15 years. She is known for her Post-Minimalist sculptural objects as well as temporary, site-specific works, such as a group of nine sculptures situated in a sand pit in Westphalen, Germany. Made from sand on the site and prepared metal sheets, these sculptures were executed over the course of a week and were extant for one day.

The artist's most recent work, "Arnaud's Room," Sculpture Number 188, occupied Lefebvre's primary exhibition space on the ground floor of an 18th-century building on the rue Mazarine. The room is only a little over 7 feet high, about 12 feet wide and some 20 feet deep from the front door to a spiral staircase at the back that leads to the basement office.

In this space, Natz built two vertical, floor-to-ceiling enclosures made from evenly spaced, rough-cut wooden strips that were about 1 inch wide and painted white. They looked like cages but were still delicate and airy. Secured top and bottom by wooden runners, both constructions were six-sided, with an internal divider that made it seem as if they were spiraling in on themselves. The unit closer to the door had one opening just a bit narrower than was comfortable for an adult to walk through. The unit behind had two openings of the same width as the entrance in the first structure.

The installations were not barrier-like, but seemed to exist primarily to subtly harmonize with the architecture of the gallery. The wood had warped a bit after the application of the paint. This seemed deliberate, as if to age the pieces quickly and bring them into character with the site. The whiteness of the paint on the wooden verticals had the effect of dispersing the mass of the structures. The even spacing of the wooden strips echoed the old beams that ran across the ceiling. The spiral paths the structures created in their interiors repeated the design of the rear staircase. Also notable was how the artist situated each enclosure so that it surrounded one of the fluorescent lights affixed to the ceiling.

The general effect was very satisfying, nuanced and slow, like a complex chord being struck and then held for an indefinite period. Arnaud's Room, like the sculptures Natz executed in Westphalen, appeared directed at creating a situation that utilizes an environment in order to create continuity. The piece seemed to symbolize the serious exchanges available between temporary and permanent spaces or even, given its title, between artist and gallery owner.

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