Menu
The New Contemporary Art Magazine

On View: Dan Graham’s Rooftop Installation at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Last week, the Metropolitan Museum of Art unveiled a new large-scale installation by artist Dan Graham entitled Hedge Two-Way Mirror Walkabout. The S-shaped, maze like structure sits between two ivy hedgerows at the center of the museum’s rooftop garden – the terrain of which has been transformed through collaboration with Swiss landscape architect Günther Vogt. To complement the new site-specific installation, several of Graham’s related projects spanning over the past 35 years are also on display inside the Met’s modern and contemporary art galleries. The special exhibit and rooftop commission will remain on display until November 2. Read more and check out our exclusive preview photos after the jump.

Last week, the Metropolitan Museum of Art unveiled a new large-scale installation by artist Dan Graham entitled Hedge Two-Way Mirror Walkabout. The S-shaped, maze like structure sits between two ivy hedgerows at the center of the museum’s rooftop garden – the terrain of which has been transformed through collaboration with Swiss landscape architect Günther Vogt. To complement the new site-specific installation, several of Graham’s related projects spanning over the past 35 years are also on display inside the Met’s modern and contemporary art galleries. The special exhibit and rooftop commission will remain on display until November 2.

With the installation pieces he calls “pavilions” after the ornamental buildings that adorn 17th and 18th-century gardens, Dan Graham’s sculptural objects obscure the distinctions between art and architecture. Comprised of steel and glass, these structures not only echo modern building façades in their use of materials, but are also designed to act as a mirror for the environments they are set within. By using reflective surfaces formed into concave and convex curves, the works recreate and distort the encompassing city skyline, challenging the observer to think of their location in new ways. Similarly, viewers become active participants in the appearance of the art, as traveling through the assemblage alters the perspective, and one’s own form and movements become part of the work, thereby creating a one-of-a-kind, interactive experience.

All photos by Matt Height.


Dan Graham speaking about his work, alongside Met Modern and Contemporary Art curator Ian Alteveer


The artist answering questions from the crowd

Meta
Share
Facebook
Reddit
Pinterest
Email
Related Articles
In most science fiction stories, the future world is designed to be a hardy and geometric place, able to withstand nuclear disaster and protect its inhabitants, who are probably less concerned about the beauty of their surroundings. South Korean artist Lee Bul's haunting suspended sculptures seem to defy this design sensibility by interpreting future worlds in a beautiful way.
Gosia, known for crafting intimate ceramic figures, contributed a sculpture to “Hi-Fructose Presents: The Art of the Mushroom” at The Compound Gallery. See her step-by stepinsight into making the piece, titled “Enoki,” below.
Portland illustrator Song Kang blends architecture and natural structures in both her intensely detailed drawings and her absorbing sculptures. The latter even uses the inherent forms of the animal kingdom as foundations for her designs. The "Vernacular" series has works created from wood, paper mache, plaster, fiber, recyclables, and other materials.
Tina Yu, a Chinese-raised, New York-based artist and designer, creates hand sculptures, which are used as pendants. These polymer clay pieces are painted with acrylics, and they move between delicate reflections of nature’s flora and fauna and something much bleaker.

Subscribe to the Hi-Fructose Mailing List