303 Gallery presents "new skin" and "on", two new installations by Doug Aitken.
"new skin", a four channel projection on oval screens, follows a young woman who is losing her sight. As she waits alone in her Tokyo apartment, she consumes images for an internal archive. Moving around the intersecting screens of "new skin", the viewer engages this inner struggle from various viewpoints while the protagonist’s own perspective of the world is challenged.
Both of the works in this exhibition are perceptual investigations, each very different in content and approach. While "new skin" expands time, the second installation, "on", condenses time. In "on" we are in constant motion, unfolding the landscape through interminable repetition and abstraction. "on" develops the idea of collapsing time and place into a singular, minimal tempo of the constant state of transport. These images are projected onto four circular screens that appear to be punctured by a growing void of light. Mirrored walls reflect these topographical images, as well as the viewer, who becomes immersed in the terrain.
“new skin” was commissioned by the Centre Pompidou, Musée national d'art moderne et l'lrcam, Paris 2001 and will open there October 15th in “Sonic Process” curated by Christine van Assche. Doug Aitken’s commissioned work, "interiors", will open September 20th at The Fabric Workshop and Museum. Aitken has a one-person exhibition at the Louisiana Museum, Denmark up through late September. The installation "new ocean", produced by the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo per l'Arte in conjunction with The Serpentine Gallery, London opened at the Serpentine this past fall. "new ocean" is now on view at the Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery, Japan and will travel to the Kunsthaus Bregenz, Austria in December. In 2000, Aitken received the Aldrich Award from the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art in Ridgefield, CT. His installation "electric earth" was one of the highlights of the Whitney Museum of American Art Biennial, 2000 and was awarded the International Prize at the Venice Biennale, 1999.