Few artists would get the green light to excavate a crater out of a gallery's floor these days, but Doug Aitken (opens in new tab) is worth making an exception for. The showpiece of his latest exhibition '100 Yrs' at New York City's 303 Gallery (opens in new tab) is just that - a gaping hole in the middle of its minimalist exhibition space.
Filled with milky water, the work - titled 'Sonic Fountain' - is accompanied by an installation of sounds and water droplets from above. The controlled rhythm of the dripping water mimics the pattern of breathing to hypnotic effect.
Aitken (opens in new tab) has consistently kept the art world guessing with his simple, yet grandiose gestures. In this latest outing, the Los Angeles-based maverick proved that he doesn't need a museum building or a big city block to pack a punch. '100 Yrs' is made up of eight provocative works that are each distillations of the multimedia artist's arresting visual style.
These include a Plexiglas sculpture of the word 'Art', which repeatedly overflows with bubbling liquid earth, simply called 'Fountain (Earth Fountain)', and a ticking light box that highlights the blurred lines of its title 'Not Enough Time in the Day' with each flash.
Aitken's ability to delicately tread the line between moving and static works, as well as highbrow and popular culture, imbues each piece with an innate tension. Even in self-contained works like these, the effect is mesmerising.
2013 is shaping up to be the artist's biggest year yet. A new commission, 'Mirror' will soon be permanently installed on the façade of the Seattle Art Museum (opens in new tab), while SFMOMA (opens in new tab) in San Francisco will stage a citywide installation of his Empire Trilogy in site-specific locations later this year.
'Party', 2013, is fashioned from an LED-lit lightbox
'100 YRS' by Doug Aitken, 2013, is another LED-lit lightbox work
Installation view, showing 'Sonic Fountain' and 'Sunset (black)'
'Sunset (black)', 2013, is made from hand-carved foam and epoxy, with LED lights and hand-silk-screened acrylic
'Fountain (earth fountain)', 2012, is built from Plexiglas, steel, a pumping system, soil, coloured methyl cellulose, and lava stones
'Sonic Table (Green Onyx Sound Table)', 2011-2013, features a wooden frame and a marble top
'Not Enough Time in the Day', 2013, comprises an LED-lit lightbox
'More (shattered pour)', 2013, is built from high density foam, wood and mirror
ADDRESS
303 Gallery
547 West 21st Street
New York
View Google Maps (opens in new tab)
-
Women’s Fashion Week A/W 2023: what to expectLook forward to Women’s Fashion Week A/W 2023 with our guide to this season’s shows in New York, London, Milan and Paris
-
Meet Tyler Hobbs, the breakout star of generative art
Tyler Hobbs is making waves with abstract, algorithm-assisted art that harnesses code as a creative medium. We speak to the American artist ahead of two physical exhibitions in New York and London
-
Triennale pays tribute to Angelo Mangiarotti with extensive retrospective
‘Angelo Mangiarotti: When Structures Take Shape’ (until 23 April 2023) is an extensive retrospective of the Milanese architect's work, with contributions from Renzo Piano and UniFor
-
Theaster Gates’ New Museum exhibition meditates on mourning, materials and community
Theaster Gates talks about his first US museum show, ‘Young Lords and Their Traces’ at The New Museum (until 5 February 2023), a moving homage to the creative forces who came before
-
New York art exhibitions: what to see this winter
Stay up-to-date with our ongoing guide to the best new and upcoming New York art exhibitions and events for your diary
-
New York photography show sees cultural icons – from David Hockney to Maya Angelou – in unguarded moments
‘Face to Face’ at New York’s International Center of Photography (27 January – 1 May 2023) sees cultural icons shot by Tacita Dean, Brigitte Lacombe and Catherine Opie
-
Inez & Vinoodh on 35 years of radical photography, being ‘two brains, one person', and judging our Design Awards
Dutch photography duo and Wallpaper* Design Awards 2023 judges Inez & Vinoodh discuss image manipulation, design aspirations, and capturing the legendary Julianne Moore
-
Es Devlin’s illuminated choral sculpture in New York celebrates human connection
Es Devlin’s ‘Your Voices’ at Lincoln Center, commissioned by Moët & Chandon, is an ode to the 700 languages spoken in New York City
-
Hav & Mar restaurant is a new temple for Black arts and culture in New York
Hav & Mar, a new art-focused seafood restaurant in New York, is the brainchild of chef Marcus Samuelsson and artist Derrick Adams
-
‘Eyes on Iran’ art activation in New York directs urgent attention to the United Nations
Including work by JR and Shirin Neshat, ‘Eyes on Iran’ is a group public art activation in New York timed to the UN initiative, 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence
-
Lucy McRae on gene editing, human intimacy, and tangible science fiction
We explore the universe of sci-fi artist and ‘body architect’ Lucy McRae, whose science fiction works fuse human intimacy, biological perfection and speculative, yet eerily familiar futures
