Lehmann Maupin is pleased to announce its participation in ShContemporary 2008. Most of the booth will be devoted to the work of digital artist Jennifer Steinkamp, but it will also present works by other gallery artists, including Tracey Emin and Lee Bul.
Jennifer Steinkamp continues to explore ideas of space and motion, and is applying new media technology to create illusionistic environments. On view at ShContemporary will be a selection of her works including Dervish 2004-5, Rapunzel, 2005, and Formation, 2006.
Dervish was inspired by a ritual practiced by dervishes, priests of the Mevlavi sect of Islam. In the midst of a trance, the dervishes whirl in a motion symbolizing the soul's release from earthly ties and communication with the divine. The trees in Steinkamp's work, Dervish, reflect this ritualistic movement through the rhythmic and stylized swaying and swiveling of their branches. For Rapunzel, Steinkamp was inspired by the Grimm fairy tale of Rapunzel whose mother became addicted to the rampion flower. This series consists of gently swaying vines – their playful movement is seemingly natural, yet tension is created between the physical space where the work is shown and the invented landscape created by the vines. In the series Formation, falling, multi-colored sheets shimmer and tumble as if over invisible surfaces, and the walls upon which the work is shown appear as jagged plains. This illusion of invisible forms revealed by virtual impressions is representative of Steinkamp's continued investigations into individual perceptions.
Jennifer Steinkamp will also be featured in a solo show at Lehmann Maupin's Chrystie Street gallery space in New York from 7 September through 1 November, 2008. Recently, Tracey Emin opened her retrospective at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh, which then travels onto Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Málaga in 2009. Lee Bul is currently participating in the Mobile Art: Chanel Contemporary Art Container traveling worldwide through Tokyo, London, New York, and Paris.
For more information please visit www.lehmannmaupin.com or contact Courtney Plummer at
212 255 2923 or Courtney@LehmannMaupin.com.
