JENNIFER STEINKAMP

Lehmann Maupin Hong Kong is pleased to present an exhibition of new works by Jennifer Steinkamp, on view February 13 – March 22, 2014. The Los Angeles-based artist has been working in digital media for over twenty years and is a pioneer in the field of 3-D animation. Steinkamp's digitally rendered animations of natural phenomenon and movements are projected within architectural surroundings, resulting in immersive environments that blend awareness of the physical and ethereal and challenge the viewer's preconceived ideas of form and space. The artist’s first exhibition in Hong Kong, with two new works, furthers her exploration of space, perspective, and digital simulation of the natural world.

Diaspore, one of the two projections on display, depicts a collection of virtual tumbleweeds, self-propelled through a flat, white landscape. The renderings of the amalgamated shrubs, composed of sticks and leaves, are mesmerizing, mimicking the movements one would experience in nature in ways that are instinctually familiar. In this work, Steinkamp references both the anatomy of the plant that disperses the seeds and spores, as well as the social phenomenon of diaspora. Drawing a connection between the dissemination of people and culture across the world and the plant’s ability to spread its seeds, Steinkamp uses technology to link the natural and human worlds.

In addition, Steinkamp will present Bouquet 1, portraying not a bouquet of flowers, but of fully-grown trees, gathered in an intricate arrangement. This large-scale projection upends the traditional notion of a delicate, floral bouquet, reimagining it as a dynamic, looming forest. Although the work is visually alluring, Bouquet 1 continues Steinkamp’s approach to creating projections that are slightly disconcerting, forcing the viewer to reconsider their ideas about nature and their relationship to their immediate environment. Bouquet 1 is also currently on view at the American Consulate in Guangzhou, China as part of the U.S. Department of State's Art in Embassies program.

This coming March, Steinkamp’s major work Loop, from the Corcoran Gallery of Art's permanent collection, will be installed at the museum in Washington D.C. for the first time since 2000. The immersive work containing both audio and visual elements will seamlessly fill the museum's 43-foot diameter Rotunda gallery with an animation of multicolored looped lines undulating slowly as if blown by a slow breeze.

Lehmann Maupin has represented Steinkamp since 2004 and her work has been featured in five dedicated, single-artist exhibitions at the gallery’s New York locations (2004, 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2010). Steinkamp’s work confirms Lehmann Maupin’s commitment to artists working with cutting-edge technology and new media.

Arriving to CalArts in Los Angeles to study motion graphics in 1984, Steinkamp was influenced by the West coast art scene that had evolved since the 1970s into the Light and Space movement in addition to the next generation of artists experimenting with art and technology. She completed her BFA and MFA from Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA in 1989 and 1991 respectively. Recently, Steinkamp created a large-scale animated projection on the facade of the Contemporary Art Museum in St. Louis, providing new perspectives on the architectural structure. Other important recent exhibitions include the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego (2011); Museum of Fine Arts Houston (2012); Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia (2012); and the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha (2013). In 2006, a retrospective of her work opened at the San Jose Museum of Contemporary Art and travelled to the Kemper Museum in Kansas City, Missouri and Albright-Knox Gallery in Buffalo, NY. Also in 2006, the Denver Art Museum commissioned an installation by the artist for its new Daniel Libeskind-designed building. Steinkamp's works was also included in the 8th Istanbul Biennial (2003) and the 11th Cairo International Biennial (2008). Her work is included in numerous public and private collections internationally, including The Chrysler Museum of Art, Virginia; Centro de Arte Contemporaneo de Malaga, Spain; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Istanbul Museum, Turkey; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minnesota; Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami; and Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

For more information on the artist, please contact Lehmann Maupin, Hong Kong at +852 2530 0025 / hong kong@lehmannmaupin.com, or visit www.lehmannmaupin.com.