"Shiny: Workks by 9 Artists"
2006-09-16 until 2006-12-31
Wexner Center for the Arts
Columbus, OH, USA

The exuberant exhibition Shiny, featuring 13 (literally) shiny works by nine artists, opens this fall at the Wexner Center. Shiny offers a playful and insightful look at the culture’s love of luxury, love of spectacle, and, of course, love of shiny things. Organized by the Wexner Center, it will be on view September 16–December 31, 2006.Showcasing the work of mostly younger artists from the U.S. and Europe working in a variety of media, Shiny features pieces with reflective, shiny, mirrored, sparkly surfaces, many of them produced in the last five years. Some of the work is made of metal and mirrors, offering the viewers twisted and contorted glimpses of themselves and the galleries.

The artists in the show are Jeff Koons, Andy Warhol, Mai-Thu Perret, Kelley Walker, Rachel Harrison, Josiah McElheny (whose chandelier project representing the Big Bang was on view here in the fall of 2005), Louise Lawler (also featured in a concurrent retrospective in two other Wexner Center galleries), Michael Minelli (creating commissioned sculptural pieces for this show), and Jim Hodges (including a new work).

Notes Chief Curator of Exhibitions Helen Molesworth, who curated this show, “Shiny is a look at our culture’s affection for bling and spectacle. Both humorous and critical, this show offers a glimpse into how our expectations are both reflected and refracted in art.”

The exhibition also creates a vertiginous experience when set within the Wexner Center’s distinctive architecture. The reflection of the landmark Peter Eisenman building will be doubled and redoubled in the reflective surfaces of the work, extending the exhibition experience from the floors to the rafters.

A few highlights:

Andy Warhol’s Silver Clouds, a batch of helium-filled floating silver balloons that gently bob and weave with the air currents within the gallery

Jeff Koons’s Balloon Dog, a 15-by-10-foot blue stainless steel sculpture of a children’s party balloon

Mai-Thu Perret’s Little Planetary Harmony, a gigantic sculpture of a teapot that’s large enough for gallery-goers to enter and explore the interior, which contains modernist paintings by Perret

Louise Lawler’s photograph of a Jeff Koons work (tying this show back to the Lawler show in the nearby galleries) An illustrated brochure will accompany the exhibition.

IMAGE
Jeff Koons
Balloon Dog, 1994–2001 (1)

Related Links:

Indepth Arts Resources for the State of Ohio

Other Important Exhibitions in United States