Manfred Mohr at Bitforms

Posted by Susan Happersett

This summer I had the privilege of seeing Manfred Mohr’s video “Cubic Limit” from 1973-1974. I was so happy to be able to see it again at Bitforms Gallery in NYC this Fall. The gallery is presenting “Manfred Mohr A Formal Language: Celebrating 50 Years of Artwork and Algorithms (1969-2019”. There is the full range of Mohr’s art on display including some more recent work.

The painting “P-511-0” from 1995-97. Is a static example of a algorithm based geometric work

The video “P-777_MA1” from 2002 is a dynamic colorful computer driven dance of geometry.

The exhibition has been extended until November 3rd

Susan Happersett

Rafael Lozano-Hemmer at bitforms gallery

Posted by Susan Happersett

“Confirmation Bias” is the current solo exhibition for Rafael Lozano-Hemmer at bitforms gallery. The term confirmation bias relates to how information or data is interpreted in a way that favors one’s preexisting ideas believes and preferences. This can pose a negative effect on scientific study.

“Vanishing Points”is a data generated screen based work form 2018 that reacts in real time to the position of the viewer in the gallery. Using software that adjusts the grids to form a vanishing point that corresponds to the viewers perspective.

“Vanishing Point” has mathematical themes on numerous levels. The use of geometry to create the changing grids is just the beginning. Using computer algorithms Lozano-Hemmer takes the work outside of the 2 dimensions of the flat screens into the 3 dimensions of the gallery while adding the element of time. The concept of confirmed bias relates to the the societal implications of numerical data and how it can be distorted due to peoples existing opinions and feelings.

Susan Happersett

Beryl Korot at bitforms gallery

Posted by Susan Happersett

Beryl Korot is well known for her work in the 1970’s that juxtaposes the art of weaving with modern technology. Her current exhibition “Beryl Korot: A Coded Language” at bitforms gallery follows her work from 1980 up to and including new work from 2017.

In the entryway of the gallery there is this chart that outlines her algorithm for translate the alphabet into a series of weaving rules.

This set of transformation becomes procedure to create “Babel1”, acrylic on hand woven linen, from 1980. This piece is the Tower of Babel story from the bible transcribed into a textile.

I think “Babel 1” is a fantastic example of algorithimically generated art. I am so happy that bitforms presented Korot’s schematic cart allowing the viewer a complete visualization of her artistic process.

Gary Hill at bitforms Gallery

Posted by Susan Happersett

Gary Hill’s ” Klein Bottle with Image of Its Own Making (after Robert Morris)” from 2014 is on display in bitforms Gallery’s Summer 2017 group show. The glass structure is a 3-D representation of the Mathematical form introduced by Felix Klein in 1882. Related to Moebius strips, Klein Bottles are a sort of vessel where both interior and exterior are all the same continuous surface. They are only truly possible using four dimensions. A video is projected inside the bottle showing the glass structure being formed. This conceptual aspect of the video connected the sculptural work with it’s production relates to Robert Morris’s “Box with the Sound of Its own Making” (1961).

This Summer exhibition at bitforms Gallery provides a sample of the work of artist who will have larger exhibitions next season. i am looking forward to seeing more of Gary Hill’s work.

Susan Happersett

Casey Reas at bitforms gallery

Posted by Susan Happersett

“There’s No Distance” is Reas’ fourth solo show at bitform gallery. On display are the artist’s new software-generated “Still Life”series videos.

“Still Life (RGB-AV A)” (gallery view), 2016
Picture courtesy of the gallery and the artist

The work in this series is based on the decomposition of a platonic solid using custom software to create an ever changing image of iterations. Reas has collapsed or flattened the multiple planes of a 3-D object allowing them to be visible on the screen at the same moment in time. These works are meant to be seen as performances, with the exhibition space and sound being integral to the work. Derived through a set of instructions or rules, the software adds a time-based element that changes the processes and continues to create new iterations. The subject matter for this series is pure geometry, but the viewer experiences the analysis of the shapes through the exploration by the computer system.

Susan Happersett

Daniel Canogar at bitforms gallery

Posted by Susan Happersett

Bitforms gallery specializes in exhibiting work in the realm of new media and digital art. Daniel Canogar is known for his photographic, video, and installation art. He has exhibited extensively throughout Europe and the United States, including numerous site specific public art displays. Canogar’s current show at bit forms gallery is titled “Small Data” and consists of nine small installations. Each of the nine works include some sort of used personal technical device that the artist has bathed in an overhead photographic video projection.

In the work “AC, 2014” Canogar uses an old calculator with a broken screen. A black and white video presentation incorporating a series of LCD numbers, hand written mathematical formulas, as well as other images is projected onto the calculator. The scale of this work makes it a very personal statement about the tenuous and fickle relationships humans have with our electronic devices. The device is no longer useful for its original purpose, but the remnants of the numbers it displayed and the formulas it helped solve still linger. It seems to me that “AC, 2014” is not only about the technological apparatus, it is also a statement about society’s relationship with numbers and mathematics. The rows of glowing calculator numbers, as well as the scribbles of formulae – that accumulate and then recede – create a sense of anxiety.

— Susan Happersett