Gallery Show Proposal- If I Had The Resources

For the Rachel Uffner Gallery, which has a series of gorgeous skylights for natural light, I would love to put on a solo or collaborative exhibition that makes use of the natural light and multi-floor quality of the space. The gallery felt like a well-lit house, and the abundance of skylights both in the downstairs and upstairs portion, as well as the existence of multiple floors, would make for a fascinating space in which to create a full environment. The following proposal makes the assumption that I would have the time and resources to create this piece, which of course is not feasible at this moment in time.

View of the downstairs Rachel Uffner Space With current exhibition by Strauss Bourque-LaFrance

I have several ideas for how to make the most of the space. One show I could implement in the space would be to use the natural light to my advantage by creating a dense forest in the space entirely out of monochromatic paper, fabric, and probably industrial foam, for time purposes. By using all white materials, the scenery would blend into the walls and create a full environment, naturally lit. The monochromatic nature of the room would emphasize the light, the most purely “natural” element, and create unity. The camouflage of all the objects would also be very confusing for people, which is sadistically appealing to me. The area, while nerve-rackingly fragile, would be open to exploration by viewers. The central idea would be to create a large space that functions as a kind of set, a uniquely artificial oasis of the natural world inside what is essentially a small house in Manhattan. I would make sure that each plant was accurate to actual plants present in the same climate, at the same elevation, and so on. In this way, the location and organization of the house becomes important, and the skylight functions as a means of changing the context of the piece throughout the day.

Nervescape By Hrafnhildur Arnardottir: An example of how an environment can be created within a space.

I could also take this further and, instead of creating artificial flora, cover the floor and walls with actual moss, so the whole room is a field that viewers can inhabit. I would probably create a small hill in the center, just large enough for one or two people to lie upon and gaze up out of the skylight. The focus, in either case, would be on carefully curating a “city” experience with the outdoors. However, I would prefer this was not a sinister look at how devoid of nature the city is, or how carefully controlled our park experiences are, but a way of offering new possibilities for “open” space in the city.

I should note that in both instances, I would use the back room and the “attic” portion of the space, and I would especially be interested to bring the environment onto the stairs, either covering them in moss or an explosion of paper vines and grasses. Aside from forcing people to interact with the environment, this would also link the upper and lower spaces. In the case of the paper version, the attic would appear like the canopy of the plants below, rather than as a new iteration of the same scene. This would heighten the ability to see the environment in a new context, and enhance the surreal nature of the rooms.

Quick Sketch of Concept

While I would want part of the impact in the piece to be in the surprise of the main rooms, The front room, a longer hallway, would have two strait lines on the walls covered with the same material as the other rooms, leading like veins to the focal points of the gallery. The focus would be on adventure and interaction, but also on carefully crafting the space.

I was also drawn to the SimonPreston Gallery, and in particular its rough-hewn wooden beams and the wall the hides the main gallery from the front portion of the space. In this room, I would probably have a collaborative show with various artists focusing on creating incredibly tiny sculptures of grotesque creatures. This plan is far more practical and easily done than the previous proposal, and hinges on a large variety and quantity of creatures, a very literal menagerie, covering the walls behind the initial divider. The cozy space seems closed off, and I believe this would be an ideal environment for the creatures, not too familiar but not so austere that the images look absurd in the space.