Last week, I cut out of work early. I wasn’t feeling well and to clear my head, I went for a long walk, ending up in the totally empty Lehmann Maupin on Chrystie Street in the middle of the afternoon.
Standing alone in the dark back room, the Jennifer Steinkamp installation was a nice reminder why Lehmann Maupin’s L.E.S. satellite is my favorite new art space. Maybe even one of my favorite places to see art in the city.
Jennifer Steinkamp, Daisy Bell Entire Year, 2008
Nothing could have been better. Now naturally I have a strong aversion to galleries — and stores, or museums, or anywhere with an intimidating presence behind a counter for that matter — but for some reason this space just calms me down. First of all it’s spacious. But not in that overwhelming, bright-as-can-be Chelsea gallery way. The gallery takes full advantage of its soaring ceilings with some seriously big installations (even if the medium is just projected light). As you climb the steps to check out the second-floor viewing loft, evidence of the building’s previous incarnations warms up the traditional white box.
This time, the installation was two video projections. The first, a flowing rainbow called Clavicle. The second, a two-channel trickle of flowers on a black background. Totally interactive. Great to spend time with. Not groundbreaking, easy to look at and just what the doctor ordered.
Another exhibition that’s been on my mind is at NY Studio Gallery, a new space that just opened down the street. A Rare Breed is a project that I’ve been following for some time, as I’m equal parts creeped out and fascinated by redheads. Plus, I just love the name.
Johanna, 2008
My interest in redheads stems, in part, from a blog i once found called The Redhead Cluster Phenomenon. Among its interesting features is a very useful redhead-classification system.
Know Your Redheads
P.S. It doesn’t hurt that one of my favorite people in the world is a ginger nut, too.
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