In August of 1992, Daniel Arsham was nearly killed in a hurricane in Miami. This being the 20th anniversary of that event, the experience has provided the initial inspiration for this exhibition titled STORM. Witnessing the dramatic and destructive possibilities of nature and its impact on human constructions, Arsham has created a new series of his architectural interventions that expand on his ability to make architecture perform the unexpected.
In much of the work in the show, Arsham takes the destructive energy he observed in the storm and reforms it to new and imaginative purposes, creating an uncanny context though aberrant perceptions : a clock moves on the wall creating folds that partially conceal it (“Sideways clock”) ; a wall as a sheet blows over a figure (“Hiding Figure”); a mirror disappears behind a moving wall (“Mirror Slit”).
After the hurricane, there was broken glass everywhere in Arsham’s home and all of the framed works on the walls were destroyed. A number of new self-portraits reform the broken glass back into sculptural objects. The moon features as an essential motif in this exhibition. In particular, in his paintings in gouache on mylar, where the moon is altered to contain rectilinear excavations. During the month that Arsham lived without electricity after the storm the moon appeared prominently in the sky at night and the memory of the storm is linked with the glowing of the moon at night.
Creating possibilities out of ruin, Arsham’s paintings and sculptures seem to float in time, giving a similar interpretation as in Nicolas Poussin and Hubert Robert landscapes.
Daniel Arsham presents with Jonah Bokaer their latest creation, “Curtain”, at the Théâtre de la Cité internationale on the occasion of New Settings of the Fondation d’entreprise Hermès the 10, 12 & 13 November. www.theatredelacite.com
Visitors to Design Miami/ 2012 will be welcomed by “Drift”, a floating environment comprised of massive inflatable tubes, resembling a topographical landscape in suspension: an ascending mountain above and an excavated cavern below. “Drift” has been conceived by Snarkitecture, Daniel Arsham’s collaborative architectural practice with Alex Mustonen. Daniel Arsham has also been selected in the Video section of Art Basel Miami Beach 2012.
Take a look at an interview I conducted with Daniel Arsham HERE.
Daniel Arsham “Storm” Exhibition at Galerie Perriton that is open until December 22.
Photography / Karl Hab