Art in NYC: Hans Haacke at the New Museum

Hans Haacke: All Connected, an exhibition of artworks from the 1960s to the present is on view at the New Museum until January 26, 2020

Hans Haacke, Gift Horse, 2014. Commissioned by the Mayor of London’s Fourth Plinth Program. © Hans Haacke / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Courtesy the artist and Paula Cooper Gallery, New York. Photo: Gautier Deblonde

A retrospective of works by conceptual artist Hans Haacke at the New Museum is the first major survey of the artist’s works in 30 years. It presents the artist’s oeuvre from the 1960s to the present.

Renown in the art world for his interest in the systems, from mechanical to environmental to social, Haacke’s explorations in the field of investigative art made a splashy headlines in 1971 when his exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum was canceled because it included Shapolsky et al Manhattan Real Estate Holdings, a Real-Time Social System which probed the real estate dealings of the landlords of Manhattan’s slums. This time Shapolsky et al is on view at the New Museum.

The exhibition also includes Haacke’s kinetic and mechanical art which was created at the start of his career in Germany in the early 1960s. It progresses throughout the years to the recent Make Mar-a-Lago Great Again arrangement from 2019.

Spread over the four floors and the lobby, there are loaded installations that cover such topics as the troubled corporate sponsorship of the arts, the duplicity of business culture, and the societal biases in how the public values and appreciates the art. Haacke’s famous entry for the Fourth Plinth project was Gift Horse, 2014. Conceived in 1998, the project selects artwork for a temporary exhibition on the unoccupied corner on the Trafalgar Square in London. A tribute to Scottish economist Adam Smith, the bronze skeleton of the thoroughbred with the electronic ribbon which displayed the ticker feed from the London Stock exchange (for the exhibit at the New Museum it displays a feed from the New York Stock exchange) was commissioned by the Mayor of London to stand alongside the permanent sculptures of King George IV and the two generals Henry Havelock and Charles James Napier.

The exhibition is a strong reminder about the societal disharmonies of the past and current times. Stroll through the galleries, ponder over the peculiar physics of wave formation or condensation process which are the subjects of Haacke’s early period, participate in the museum visiter’s survey as a participatory piece of art, and get deep into an uneasy relationship between the business and the art.

Hans Haacke: All Connected exhibit is on view at the New Museum from October 24, 2019 – January 26, 2020.

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Storm King Art Center presents a survey of works by an American conceptual artist Mark Dion titled Follies; on view until November 11, 2019

Mark Dion, Hunting Blind (The Dandy Rococo), 2008/2019; photo by Jeffrey Jenkins / Courtesy the artist and Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York/Los Angeles

The rolling hills and wooded greenery of the Storm King Art Center make a perfect site to display the architectural follies created by the conceptual artists Mark Dion. Known for his scientific installations and exploration into momentous obsessions, Dion’s follies which are presented as self-contained thematic stations, can be found on the vest outdoor grounds of the park and at its museum galleries.

The peculiar structures by Dion are situated around the North Woods, Meadows, and South fields sections of the park. They fit so perfectly to the surrounding nature that they require some effort to be found. Rewarding those who are brave enough to venture into the woods and to the far parts of the center, the art tells stories about various traits of human behavior and life circumstances. Some of the installations are created for interactive use. Others can only be observed from afar. But a unifying theme for the art is its gentle nudge to look at the conventional objects in a new light as symbols and symptoms of affection.

Mark Dion, Dana Sherwood, Conservatory for Confectionery Curiosities, 2008/2019; photo by Jeffrey Jenkins / Courtesy the artists and Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York/Los Angeles

The 9 pieces positioned outdoors explore a human interest in nature, environments, scientific observation, and even confectionary temptation. The works housed indoors closely scrutinize the dark sides of life choices. Both mellow and sharp, the artworks emphasize the disruptive nature of even simple action. The exhibition review in the FT notes that “hunting, finding, collecting, measuring, preserving — these activities common to art, sport and science merge in Dion’s work”. This kaleidoscope of objects makes a parallel to the prior centuries personal collections of curiosities. It fascinates and makes one pause to rethink humans’ relationship with the environment. Look around, contemplate, and wonder about a way to bring more harmony into everyday life. Visit the Storm King Art Center and enjoy Mark Dion: Follies exhibit!

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Tag: conceptual art