303 Gallery is proud to present our first solo exhibition of sculpture by Jeppe Hein that is minimal in execution and engages the viewer in potentially social interactions.
For his New York gallery debut, Danish-born artist Jeppe Hein tests visitors’ eyes. Instead of placing his works prominently in the gallery space, Hein works with more minimalist spatial interventions. All the works in this exhibition are installed in almost invisible places – in a corner, behind a column, at the end of a wall – so that the visitor does not notice them at first glance. The viewer is invited to take a close look around the gallery to search for the works and discover them. Hidden in a corner you find ‘Sugar Cube’, 2008, a white cube consisting of 36 small sugar cubes installed on a shelf. Towards the end of the exhibition the visitor walks into the ‘Spinning Ball’, 2008, a high polished steel ball that spins around its diagonal axis reorienting our experience of gravity.
Jeppe Hein activates the visitor’s relationship to space – turning the spectator into a participant. The viewer sees her/himself reflected in the surface of a neon piece which invites them to ‘PLEASE ENJOY RELAX STEAL DANCE TOUCH FLIRT SMOKE WONDER FEEL MUSE EAT SING LISTEN TALK ASK TOUCH NEON LOOK COMMUNICATE TOUCH EACH OTHER USE CAMERA FLASH.’ The dialectical opposition catalyzed by language is echoed in the dissociative sensation of seeing one’s own reflection behind instructive “rules” created for our own heeding.
In 2007 Jeppe Hein was included “The World as a Stage” at Tate Modern, London which will travel to the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston. Last year Jeppe Hein also had solo exhibitions at the Sculpture Center, New York, Barbican Art Center, London and at the Carré d’Art – Musée d’art contemporain de Nîmes, which was accompanied by a catalogue. In 2008 will participate in an exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Finland, as well as the Folkestone Triennial. In 2009 Hein will have a one-person exhibition at the AROS Kunstmuseum, Århus, Denmark accompanied by a public project and a solo exhibition at the Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada. The same year he will have a solo exhibition at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indiana. Jeppe Hein has previously exhibited at the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, Sprengel Museum, Hannover, Lenbachhaus Muenchen, Germany, and P.S.1, New York.
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