Phong Bui’s latest exhibition, “Spaced Out: Migration To The Interior” was done in conjunction with Rail Curatorial Projects and is on view at Red Bull Studios New York. The opening reception was on October 9.
Phong Bui has an energy as colorful and vibrant as the art he curates. Upon speaking with him, he nearly dragged me around the room in excitement, literally tugging at my shirt sleeve, laughing and showing me all his favorite details in all the works. “Look at this!” He points to a pair of fake Louis Vuitton shoes, a clever extra to an already excellent piece. “Isn’t this so wonderful?” he asks as he gazes at a television that was emitting static on the screen and the sounds of chirping birds through the speakers. “I love this! It’s so right!,” he says with a sweeping motion of his hand, drawing attention to Peter Lamborne Wilson’s shrine, “Altar to Hermes.”
And indeed, it was so right, because in a fascinating way, every piece worked together – nothing overpowered anything else – despite all the vibrant colors, curious mediums and interesting concepts. It’s a celebration of all things experimental, the, “Look at me! Here I am! What the hell am I?.” When everything is over-the-top, nothing is. It becomes normal. Even the entire floor itself, Jim Lambie’s “Zobop,” with its candy store tendencies – a stripy, digital array of mirrored vinyl in a rainbow of colors – zooming down straight hallways and rippling every kink and quirk of the building’s architecture (interesting in itself) – only enhanced the other works, rather than rob them of their experimental nature and confidence.
With this, we see a serious appreciation for impracticality. For example, Will Ryman’s piece “Infinity,” a room packed full of white shoes on every surface – (impractical in itself), is accessed by a doorway of about 1 1/2 feet across, forcing any viewer to maneuver and contort themselves through the doorway and finally slip into, well, Infinity. Cao Fei’s “Hip Hop NY” with its overturned table-as-projection-screen, Chinese take out boxes and (as referenced earlier) fake Louis Vuitton shoes, is big and messy and wild.
Further impracticalities? Having guests walk on plush (then pristine) pink carpet to see parts of the show and having to mind the lighting (which are crude, heavy-duty flood lights placed on the floor.) But maybe this was all part of the plan. The temptation to touch and interact with the art is at its peak here – probably due to Lambie’s floor based work and the carpet. Through all of this, maybe naively, the age old question of, “What is art”? is visited yet again.
Expect surprise and pleasure here. Look at everything carefully. Look under, behind, and above. Consider the multidimensional canvases of Chris Martin and Bruce Pearson’s gorgeous blending of oil and acrylic on styrofoam. Note Tamara Gonzales’ fascinating achievement of painting opaque surfaces, Sylvie Fleury’s capture of black on black, Rottenberg’s dynamic performance stills, and Jon Kessler’s emotional “Lost Boy #2″.
Digital and video works have good representation here as well, with the back theater dedicated to six different contemporary artists, and the particularly absurd (and lengthy- it’s over 40 minutes) “A Family Finds Entertainment” by Ryan Trecartin in the hallway. The beauty of all the video works is that they are undeniably human, despite their fantastical subjects. They have a delicious D.I.Y.-ness that can be appreciated.
Phong Bui’s “Spaced Out: Migration To The Interior” is a fantastic success, touching many mediums and subjects- it’s exciting and brilliantly executed.
“Spaced Out: Migration To The Interior” runs October 10 – December 14 at Red Bull Studios New York, 220 West 18 Street.
Check out photos below courest of Red Bull Content Pool // Greg Mionske:
-Benjamin Schmidt
