An abundantly inventive sculptor who works with traditional materials as well as sound, light, and video, Mr. DeSoto here offers a spare, affecting installation of five works designed as a meditative tribute to his recently deceased father. The pieces include a polished aluminum motorcycle gas tank in the form of a man’s chest; a suit of medieval armor that ticks like a cooling engine; and an elevated, 60’s-era hi-fi playing an ethereal drone.
Ken Johnson, The New York Times, October 1999
Expressing variations on the meaning of “Recumbent,” the five works here are deSoto’s metaphoric meditation on the death of his father, a Native American and cabinet maker. Included are a dismembered suit of ticking armor the color of a hot engine and a gleaming metal torso (and motorcycle tank) filled with consecrated water. The old Zenith hi-fi high up on a wall – on which an orchestral version of “I’ve Only Got Eyes for You” segues into a heartbeat, then a drone – is the apotheosis.
Kim Levin, The Village Voice, November 1999