The first stop on our grande international summer trip was actually within the USA in Santa Fe New Mexico. Baby steps!
I had visited the exhibit Future Shock when it first opened, but I was so rushed that I felt compelled to come back again this time.
Seth Frey using his miniature magnifying glass to decipher ancient writings!
This show is very thoughtfully organized and the new SITE building lends to the grandeur of the exhibit. The walls within the main structure lead you from one artist to the next with refreshing space between each piece and each area.
Tom Sachs wows you right off the bat with contraptions and objects from his Space Program. His work reels you in with comic details, such as song titles and famous names on each element of any given installation. The small taste you receive here leaves you hungry to see more of his work or even a live performance using these objects and machines. For more info: Space Program
close-up from Tom Sachs' tool vanity table - Space Program
Tom Sachs - Synthetic Mars Rocks
A slight hallway gives way to a dark room featuring a film by Patrick Bernatchez. If you visit this show before it closes in June, take the time to watch this film all the way through. It left me awed and chilled with thoughts of the disintegration of time and a mysterious curiosity about the characters involved. This piece is slow and drifting, eventually sweeping you off your feet and placing you on shaky ground.
Andreas Gursky, Alexis Rockman, and Andrea Zittel share the next space. Their pieces are very different from each other in approach, medium, and perspective, but they have themes in common such as a focus on group dynamics and diversity.
Andreas Gursky - Kuwait Stock Exchange II, 2007
Dario Robleto has a simple room off to the side that reveals a romanticism I have come to expect and appreciate from him. Large prints surround a center homage to the first recording of live music give you warm fuzzies and a fun aha moment when you realize what the prints depict.
Dario Robleto (title unknown)
During my experience, the grande finale of the show was Doug Aitkens Migration. A huge billboard shaped screen takes up the center of a large room and displays a series of animals encountering man-made living spaces. These scenes are jarring and beautiful, repulsive and elegant. It left me with both sadness and a sense of humor.
The show is up until June 10, 2018 and I highly recommend it to anyone in the area. Great art should be sought out!