Tag: 303

Jeppe Hein at LaGuardia Airport

Last weekend’s biggest art opening didn’t take place in a gallery (they’re mostly still closed) but at LaGuardia Airport, where four artists including Danish artist Jeppe Hein have installed new work as shiny as Hein’s work at 303 Gallery last September (pictured here).  Featuring steel balloons affixed to the ceiling and curvy benches designed to encourage  conversation, Hein’s new installation strikes a celebratory mood that’s a little out of step with current concerns about flying during the pandemic but a worthy gesture of hopefulness for the future.

Jeppe Hein, Intersecting Circles, high polished stainless steel, 87 3/8 x 85 x 70 inches, 2019.

Alicja Kwade at 303 Gallery

Starting with a 3D scan of a boulder, Berlin-based artist Alicja Kwade gradually transforms the large rock into a sphere and a square, morphing through different materials along the way and separating each phase by a mirror.  At rear, a steel framework supports three more stones, identical in mass and weight but shaped and positioned to look otherwise.  Kwade’s intention – to challenge viewers to question what they perceive – results in a puzzling and provocative exhibition.  (On view at 303 Gallery in Chelsea through May 18th).

Alicja Kwade, installation view of ‘ParaParticular’ at 303 Gallery, April 2019.

Rodney Graham at 303 Gallery

A tattoo of Popeye battling a squid inspired the cartoon-themed body art on this pensive pensioner, an invented character by Rodney Graham.   Standing on the balcony of his ‘Vancouver Special’ sporting a rebellious rockabilly style, the character – played by Graham – stands out amid the trappings of middle-class culture.  (On view at Chelsea’s 303 Gallery through Feb 23rd).

Rodney Graham, Tattooed Man on Balcony, two painted aluminum lightboxes with transmounted chromogenic transparencies, 109 5/8 x 64 5/8 x 7 inches, 2018.

Sam Falls at 303 Gallery

At 41 feet long, Sam Falls’ Untitled (Conception) is a huge recreation of the natural world, dropped into 303 Gallery’s spartan white cube.  Made by laying natural materials (branches, coral, plants) onto canvas, then adding powdered pigments and waiting for moisture in the air to set the colors, Falls’ working technique is akin to making a photogram with objects on light sensitive paper.  The result transports viewers away from the city and into the abundance of nature.  (On view in Chelsea through Oct 20th).

Sam Falls, detail of Untitled (Conception), pigment on canvas, 7ft, 6 in x 41ft, 2018.

Tim Gardner at 303 Gallery

British Columbia based artist Tim Gardner revisits his college-day haunts in vibrant, precise watercolors of a surprisingly tranquil New York, now on view at 303 Gallery.  A Statue of Liberty with stars brightly shining above (light pollution magically banished), a quiet (!) High Line park and a subway station with a train arriving are magical moments.  This bike messenger (actually waiting at a light?) helps interpret the scale of the pleasingly symmetrical terracotta-colored building framing the scene.  (On view in Chelsea through July 13th).

Tim Gardner, Bike Messenger, watercolor on paper, 16 x 12 inches, 2018.