Menu
The New Contemporary Art Magazine

On View: Crystal Wagner Creates Two Enormous Installations for Art Prize 2014

Officially opening today, Art Prize is a unique art festival and contest — perhaps one of the most democratic iterations of an art fair out there. The unlikely locale of Grand Rapids, Michigan becomes a playground for artists. Any part of downtown is fair game to use as a venue — no gallery endorsement needed — and anyone, regardless of their resume, can qualify as an exhibitor. The art projects are on view for two weeks while the public votes on which artist will be awarded the large cash prize. For her entry, artist Crystal Wagner created two installations in the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts using household items (plastic table cloths and chicken wire are two of her signature materials) to weave two enormous, sprawling sculptures in the venue's entrance and along the south staircase.

Officially opening today, Art Prize is a unique art festival and contest — perhaps one of the most democratic iterations of an art fair out there. The unlikely locale of Grand Rapids, Michigan becomes a playground for artists. Any part of downtown is fair game to use as a venue — no gallery endorsement needed — and anyone, regardless of their resume, can qualify as an exhibitor. The art projects are on view for two weeks while the public votes on which artist will be awarded the large cash prize. For her entry, artist Crystal Wagner created two installations in the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts using household items (plastic table cloths and chicken wire are two of her signature materials) to weave two enormous, sprawling sculptures in the venue’s entrance and along the south staircase.

Intrigued by the divide between civilization and the natural world, Wagner envisioned the fluorescent, biomorphic shapes as the forces of nature reclaiming their territory. In her work, the natural and the manmade don’t seem opposed. Instead, artificial materials playfully take on plantlike qualities, expanding over the rigid architecture. She seamlessly juxtaposes manufacturing and biology, tying it together with something that perhaps represents an intermediary between the two: handmade craft. Yet the fluorescent plastic, with its acidic colors, can’t help but remind one of a sort of insidious pollution. Wagner’s works sit on the brink of trepidation and ecstasy, indulging the viewers’ imaginations while keeping us grounded with a stark reminder of environmental destruction.

The winner of Art Prize will be announced on October 10 and the artworks will be on view through October 12 throughout downtown Grand Rapids.

 

Meta
Share
Facebook
Reddit
Pinterest
Email
Related Articles
With "Dimensionality," Jen Stark's vibrant sculptures, paintings, and installations take over Joshua Liner Gallery with her illusionary talents. The show, which began this week and runs through July 19, features both analogue and digital elements to activate the New York City space. Stark was last featured on HiFructose.com here.
The disturbing, seemingly organic forms created by Mireia Donat Melús take on an interactive edge with works like “Trou,” an installation that invites the viewer’s hand into the work and shows its exploration using an interior camera. His sculptures, made from nylon and empty silicone fiber, appear to be both human-grown and alien in nature.
Rob Voerman's massive installations and sculptures examine issues of wealth, climate change, and poverty—and where our current behaviors may take us. Projects like "The Exchange" posit that the only way to save natural resources is to tether it to currency.
 Last night, sculptor Daniel Arsham celebrated a return to his hometown of Miami with his installation, "Welcome to the Future" at Locust Projects. The project was successfully funded by Kickstarter and donations to create an original, site specific experience to Miami. Although an apocalyptic glimpse into our future, the piece is inspired by Arsham's past- his survival of Hurricane Andrew in the 1990s.

Subscribe to the Hi-Fructose Mailing List