How much visual information does one need to discern another moving human? What is the relationship between man and machine? These abstruse questions yield surprisingly playful answers in ‘On the Body’, a new exhibition by Random International at the Pace Gallery in New York. Hannes Koch and Florian Ortkrass, the founders of the Berlin- and London-based contemporary design studio, showed six new interactive pieces from the past two years.
Arranged chronologically, the show highlights two of the firm’s latest projects: Fifteen Points, a robotic sculpture that executes a rather jaunty walk through LED lights; and Blur Mirror, a reflective work composed of tiny tiles that cloud the face of one’s reflection. For Fifteen Points, Koch and Ortkrass worked with the BioMotion Lab at Queen’s University to translate the data of the ‘average human walk’ into a mechanised movement. ‘We were interested in the secondary information one gets through miniscule changes like emotions or gender,’ Koch says. (Fifteen Points reads as male and appears to be happy, as far as robots go.) Blur Mirror is described by the pair as ‘very analogue – we manipulated the mirrored tiles to vibrate at a high-speed to give the appearance of a digitised experience even though it is a mechanical process’.
Other pieces in the exhibition evolved out of Random International’s collaboration with choreographer Wayne McGregor in 2010 and further explore the body’s movement. For example, Small Study / I (FAR) lights up in response to motion and its thick layers of lights and panels invite the viewer to interact with it on multiple sides. Conversely, Fragments, a grid of 200 square mirrors, physically tilts and turns to follow its viewers. As a whole, the exhibition explores light, shadow, motion and the human perspective in an up-close, personal way. ‘We like to create one-on-one experiences where the person has a very intimate encounter with the work,’ Ortkrass concludes.
Blur Mirror, one of the firm's latest projects, manipulates tiles to make them vibrate at high speed, giving the viewer the appeareance of a digitised experience
A study for Fifteen Points, a robotic sculpture that executes a rather jaunty walk through LED lights
For Fifteen Points, Koch and Ortkrass worked with the BioMotion Lab at Queen’s University to translate the data of the ‘average human walk’ into a mechanised movement
Fragments comprises a grid of 200 square mirrors, physically tilting and turning to 'follow' the viewer
Small Study / I (FAR) lights up in response to motion. Its layers of lights and panels invite the viewer to interact from multiple approaches
Other pieces in the exhibition evolved out of Random International’s collaboration with choreographer Wayne McGregor in 2010 and further explore the body’s movement
INFORMATION
‘On the Body’ is on view until 22 October. For more information, visit the Pace Gallery’s website
ADDRESS
Pace Gallery
537 West 24th Street
New York, NY 10001
-
Frances Elkins gets her dues at Christie's this JuneYou can soon take home a piece of the legendary American designer’s legacy…including a $3 million Alberto Giacometti sculpture.
-
The new Phone 2 Pro from CMF combines generous scale with true affordabilityWe explore the ins and outs of the CMF Phone 2 Pro, the newest device from the Nothing sub-brand that focuses on bold design and carefully honed value engineering
-
‘I’ve considered every single detail’: how Victoria Beckham designed the perfect make-up brush collectionVictoria Beckham speaks to Wallpaper* about the meticulous design process behind her debut collection of make-up brushes, which perfectly treads a line between form and function
-
Ai Weiwei’s new public installation is coming soon to Four Freedoms State Park‘Camouflage’ by Ai Weiwei will launch the inaugural Art X Freedom project in September 2025, a new programme to investigate social justice and freedom
-
Leonard Baby's paintings reflect on his fundamentalist upbringing, a decade after he left the churchThe American artist considers depression and the suppressed queerness of his childhood in a series of intensely personal paintings, on show at Half Gallery, New York
-
Desert X 2025 review: a new American dream grows in the Coachella ValleyWill Jennings reports from the epic California art festival. Here are the highlights
-
This rainbow-coloured flower show was inspired by Luis Barragán's architectureModernism shows off its flowery side at the New York Botanical Garden's annual orchid show.
-
‘Psychedelic art palace’ Meow Wolf is coming to New YorkThe ultimate immersive exhibition, which combines art and theatre in its surreal shows, is opening a seventh outpost in The Seaport neighbourhood
-
Wim Wenders’ photographs of moody Americana capture the themes in the director’s iconic films'Driving without a destination is my greatest passion,' says Wenders. whose new exhibition has opened in New York’s Howard Greenberg Gallery
-
20 years on, ‘The Gates’ makes a digital return to Central ParkThe 2005 installation ‘The Gates’ by Christo and Jeanne-Claude marks its 20th anniversary with a digital comeback, relived through the lens of your phone
-
In ‘The Last Showgirl’, nostalgia is a drug like any otherGia Coppola takes us to Las Vegas after the party has ended in new film starring Pamela Anderson, The Last Showgirl
