Tag: bitforms

Jonathan Monaghan at Bitforms Gallery

Luxury, power, and technology provocatively merge in Jonathan Monaghan’s mesmerizing digital images and new animation ‘Den of Wolves’ at Bitforms Gallery.  Traditional symbols of monarchal authority – an ermine robe, a scepter – show up in the aisles of an otherwise empty big box outlet or a pristine, unpopulated Apple store, conflating old and new symbols of cultural clout.  Still images titled ‘Sentry’ or ‘Soft Power’ picture the places and beings – composed of luxurious upholstery and architectural details – populating Monaghan’s eerie, too-perfect dystopia. (On view on the Lower East Side through June 12th.  Masks and social distancing are required).

Jonathan Monaghan, Soft Power II, dye-sublimation on aluminum, painted maple frame, 27 x 22.5 inches, 2020.

Sara Ludy with Bitforms at Future Fair

Sara Ludy’s artwork connects to both virtual and physical worlds manifesting as actual objects inspired by a VR dream house; here, in pieces from 2018, the artist combined glass and copper to create sculptural environments for imagined birds.  Ludy’s ability to create compelling work in digital and physical media makes her an ideal artist for her gallery, Bitforms, to showcase in the inaugural Future Fair, currently operating on-line due to the pandemic.  Check out her latest images, attractive abstractions which appear simultaneously organic and highly manipulated, intimate yet without reference to scale. (On view in the Future Fair through June 6th).

Sara Ludy, Nest 1 and Nest 2, both Waken Glass; copper mesh and glass, 4 x 8 x 7 inches & 2.5 x 5 x 4.75 inches, both 2018.

Addie Wagenknecht in ‘Embedded Parables’ at Bitforms Gallery

As machines take over tasks formerly performed by people, Addie Wagenknecht’s programmed Roomba has complicated the role of the artist.  In her past work using Yves Klein blue, the Roomba replaced the female bodies Klein used as paintbrushes. Here, the machine paints using a mix of art media (linseed oil and turpentine), grooming products (cosmetics, botox and perfume) and stimulants (wine, tequila and CBD oil) suggesting the symbolic expressive potential of non-traditional art media.  (On view in ‘Embedded Parables’ at Bitforms on the Lower East Side through Jan 19th).

Addie Wagenknecht, Night to Morning, linseed oil, turpentine, cosmetic pigments, oolong tea, white wine, tequila, CBD oil, botox, JULIETTE HAS A GUN Not a Perfume perfume, lubricant, 81 x 41 inches, 2019.

Daniel Rozin at Bitforms

Ceramic fragments resembling cracked mud ripple like water in response to visitors’ movements at Bitforms on the Lower East Side, creating a surprising and delightful effect, despite the worrying allusion to a parched environment. Part of Rozin’s new series of mechanical mirrors – interactive artworks that respond via motion sensor to a visitor’s movements which Rozin has created since the late 90s – the new mirrors inhabit a darkened gallery, creating a theatrical feeling that heightens the senses. (On view through March 17th).

Daniel Rozin, Cracked Mud, ceramic fragments, custom software, motors, control electronics, motion sensors, light fixture, 4 x 132 x 132 inches, 2019.

Rafael Lozano-Hemmer at Bitforms

A plano-convex lens dangling under three projectors creates a mesmerizing, constantly shifting pattern of light on the walls in Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s latest solo show at Bitforms.  In advance of a major exhibition of his interactive environments at the Hirshhorn this fall, the artist’s current exhibition tantalizes with small scale pieces from the past few years that evoke wonder at the intersection of technology and the natural world. (On view on the Lower East Side through Oct 21st).

Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Semioptics for Spinoza, projection version, computer, 3D sensor, projectors, metal bracket, motor, Arduino processor, lens, dimensions variable, 2012.