Dennis Oppenheim, Terrestrial Studio at Storm King Art Center (May 14 – November 13, 2016) is a giddy jaunt through pristine outdoor sculpture in its natural habitat. Featuring newly realized works such as “Entrance to a Garden” and “Dead Furrow”, this exhibition breathes new life into the meaning of a living legacy and subsequently into the 500 acre grounds of storm king itself.
Oppenheim, (1938-2011) coming out of the conceptual movement, first became known for his land art pieces in the mid 1960’s. In the 1970s he used film and video in relation to performance works and through the 80’s and beyond he created with primarily industrial materials for the “transformation of everyday objects in art”. Oppenheim’s broad brushstroke of a career …show more content…
They stand larger than life but seem to dance eternal as each form, hinged into three sections with arms pivoting outward, twists and ungulates in stillness. Each piece has been inserted with small windows, doors and various architectural elements that make every form unique. They have a quiet dignity and party clown like whimsy that can only express playful humor.
Nearby, Alternative Landscape Components: Red Rocks, Straight Trees, Small Bushes, 2006 rests amidst a glen along the path. It is alien in the landscape, out of place and garish. Simplified faux trees and bushes are constructed out of steel and PVC. Formerly a practitioner of land art, here Oppenheim creates its polar opposite, wanting the work to be from an “alternative world”. Still in the seeming plasticity, the translucent rocks glow within the sunlight and the steel drum trees reach for the glorious summer sky. It is the electric landscape of the creative …show more content…
It takes the form of a giant suit jacket in perforated stainless steel with a dress collar and tie. An archway in the center of the form leads to a white gravel garden surrounded by a hedge of small trees. The garden is small and somewhat comical surrounded by miniature trees in a larger natural setting. It feels formal but still carries fantastical storybook glory. The small interior garden situated behind the suit jacket gate is shaped like a T and mimics the shadow of a human torso wearing a dress shirt with outstretched arms. The piece represents a fusion of art, architecture and fashion and although Oppenheim designed the shirt shaped garden in early proposals, it has never before been installed with its full shadow configuration until now.
You can feel Oppenheim’s presence all throughout Storm King and you can even hear his footsteps welcoming you and leading you inside as you enter the visitors’ center and galleries in A Sound Enclosed Land Area, 1969. In this work Oppenheim followed a map and recorded his footsteps while walking in Milan. The piece subverts the idea that art is a concrete object. It is haunting and beautiful, and in its own small way serves to bring even more presence of the artist to the exhibition both in spirit and to honor the breadth of this depth