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4 January – 16 February |
| CHRISTIAN
HOUGE Arctic Technology |
| There is
an island located between Greenland and the North Pole called Spitsbergen or Svalbard (“the cold land”). The seclusion of the island results in its having the cleanest atmosphere in the world and being one of the best places to do astronomical, meteorological or climate research. Hence, the remote and pristine landscape is marked by installations of technological and scientific equipment. Since 2000, Christian Houge has been making large-scale panoramic images in this landscape, exploring the human presence in this bleak yet beautiful site. Making reference to art forms as diverse as traditional landscape painting, the photography of Bernd and Hilla Becher and the Land Art of Walter De Maria and James Turrell, these images provoke a meditation on one’s place in the universe. On the island of Spitsbergen is a Soviet-era coalmining town, Barentsburg, with a population of 800. Houge visited the community repeatedly and in images that do more than just document the worksites, schools, and cafeterias where the people live, has captured something of the human instinct to survive under adverse conditions. Taken as a whole the exhibition moves from the sublime to the mundane with sensitivity and unique insight. Christian Houge was born in 1972 in Norway, where he lives and works. He has exhibited in Oslo and London. This is his first solo exhibition in New York. |
| JEREMY STENGER |
|
Jeremy Stenger’s
paintings evolve from the imagery and
resources found in his home and studio. Layer upon layer of patterns and decorative elements are compressed and thickly painted onto each work using a multi-colored palette and varied forms. Foreground and background merge as the elements of his personal world are portrayed with a rich and textured surface. Memories, dreams and fragmented visions coalesce on the canvas to create an archive of the artist’s thoughts. Stenger draws from various texts about exotic textiles, but is also inspired by something as common as the pattern on his pillowcase. The abundance of information available on the surface of each painting keeps the viewer focused on exactly that, the surface — and any possibility of meaning beneath the layers becomes lost in the search. Jeremy Stenger was born in San Diego, CA and resides in New York City. He received his BFA from CCA in California and his MFA from Hunter College, New York. |
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| Antennae
Forest, 2000 |
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| Home & Studio, 2007 |