The current exhibition at the small gallery on the eighth floor of the Kimmel Center for University Life explores a big concept: the difference between house and home.
The exhibition, “House: Home,” presented at the Kimmel Galleries, comprises works of different media by artists from across the country.
“The show is all about different interpretations of domestic spaces and what that means from person to person and place to place,” said Pamela Jean Tinnen, who co-curated the exhibition and works as full-time curator for the gallery.
Though the Kimmel Galleries generally devotes its exhibition space to NYU student or alumni work, “House: Home” exclusively features artistry from individuals who are unaffiliated with the university.
“Kimmel is sort of this neutral space,” Tinnen said. “We have the flexibility to do different things because we are sort of the nexus of the campus.”
The exhibition includes works across a variety of media including photography, video, painting and sculpture. The show is presented minimally, aided only by stark walls and natural light.
Co-curator Laura K. Higgins and director for the Andrew Edlin Gallery in the Meatpacking District said she was initially a major advocate for transforming the space completely.
“[Tinnen] really opened up my eyes to the possibility of letting the artworks accomplish that transformation,” Higgins said. “That is, to step back and trust the strength and integrity of the artworks and a carefully considered installation.”
The exhibition includes work by Brooklyn-based painter Hannah Kasper. Kasper created miniature paintings depicting interiors and placed them in small boxes, which can be viewed through peepholes behind a curtain.
“‘House’ is a structure and status, something that is physically built but can decompose,” Kasper said about the concept of her work and the exhibition. “‘Home’ is more subjective, a place for memories that can live on even when not physically in the place.”
Artist Kristin Nason created three human-sized figures out of familiar domestic objects, which are part of a series called “Decoy.” Nason used materials such as chairs, fake plants and suitcases to fashion the decoys.
“My process is one of hasty collection and fabrication to create human scale objects,” Nason said. “I bind these materials together into figurative forms to create decoys in gestures of substitution.”
Aside from Nason’s decoys, most of the pieces in the exhibition lack figures, and instead depict empty rooms. The curators said the unoccupied spaces evoke ideas of change and uneasiness.
“There’s a sense of urgency and change in the city right now,” Higgins said. “It’s the end of August and it’s restless. We wanted to contribute to and energize that air of change. I think the show is on the cusp of a renewed spirit among NYU students and the neighborhood.”
The exhibition is free and open to the public, and will be on display through Sept. 10.
A version of this story appeared in the Aug. 26 print edition. Nicola Pring is features editor. Email her at [email protected].
