Lehmann Maupin Hong Kong presents an exhibition of new work by Jennifer Steinkamp. The Los Angeles-based artist has been working in digital media for over twenty years and is a pioneer in the field of 3-D animation. Steinkamp's digitally rendered animations of natural phenomena and movement are projected within architectural surroundings, resulting in immersive environments that blend awareness of the physical and ethereal and challenge the viewer's preconceived ideas of form and space. The artist’s first exhibition in Hong Kong, with two new works, furthers her exploration of space, perspective, and digital simulation of the natural world.
Diaspore, one of the two projections on display, depicts a collection of virtual tumbleweeds, self-propelled through a flat, white landscape. The renderings of the amalgamated shrubs, composed of sticks and leaves, are mesmerizing, mimicking the movements one would experience in nature in ways that are instinctually familiar. In this work, Steinkamp references both the anatomy of the plant that disperses the seeds and spores, as well as the social phenomenon of diaspora. Drawing a connection between the dissemination of people and culture across the world and the plant’s ability to spread its seeds, Steinkamp uses technology to link the natural and human worlds.
In addition, Steinkamp will present Bouquet 1, portraying not a bouquet of flowers, but of fully-grown trees, gathered in an intricate arrangement. This large-scale projection upends the traditional notion of a delicate, floral bouquet, reimagining it as a dynamic, looming forest. Although the work is visually alluring, Bouquet 1 continues Steinkamp’s approach to creating projections that are slightly disconcerting, forcing the viewer to reconsider their ideas about nature and their relationship to their immediate environment. Bouquet 1 is also currently on view at the American Consulate in Guangzhou, China as part of the U.S. Department of State's Art in Embassies program.
This coming March, Steinkamp’s major work Loop, from the Corcoran Gallery of Art's permanent collection, will be installed at the museum in Washington D.C. for the first time since 2000. The immersive work containing both audio and visual elements will seamlessly fill the museum's 43-foot diameter Rotunda gallery with an animation of multicolored looped lines undulating slowly as if blown by a slow breeze.
Lehmann Maupin has represented Steinkamp since 2004 and her work has been featured in five dedicated, single-artist exhibitions at the gallery’s New York locations (2004, 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2010). Steinkamp’s work confirms Lehmann Maupin’s commitment to artists working with cutting-edge technology and new media.
-Lehmann Maupin
Image: © Jennifer Steinkamp
Diaspore
2014
Video Installation
Dimensions variable
Courtesy of the artist and Lehmann Maupin, New York and Hong Kong
