Math Bass: a picture stuck in the mirror
Los Angeles-based artist Math Bass (b. 1981, New York, NY) will create a site-specific installation featuring a series of recent oil paintings (a new medium for the artist), a kinetic wall work, sculpture, and large-scale wall applications. Since their initial work as a performance and video artist, the tracking of the body’s motion through the world has become central to Math’s painting and sculptural practice. The intersection of dramatically varied scale throughout the installation becomes important as well. Drawing attention to a spectator’s progress and their relationship to each object and location in the space, Bass brings forth the ideas of being shepherded by, barred from, projecting through, and resisting space.
Bass has referred to their work as "props," foregrounding the performative interplay among art, artist, and viewer inherent to their installations. During their site visit, Bass responded to the theatrical potential and multiple perspectives of the East Gallery. These characteristics particularly shaped the kinetic sculpture, which suggests continual presence and the motion of bodies behind a curtain without ever revealing them, a preparation for performative presence endlessly held in suspense. In addition to the in-gallery components, the project will extend to the Henry’s exterior, occupying the external wall of the museum with an expansive mural “painting” in vinyl. The exhibition will open in October with a performance by the artist that highlights the relationship of the seen and unseen in the work.
Math Bass: a picture stuck in the mirror is held in conjunction with the Feminist Art Coalition (FAC), a nationwide initiative of art projects that seek to generate cultural awareness of feminist thought, experience, and action.
A brochure with a curator’s introduction and installation images will accompany the exhibition.
Bass has referred to their work as "props," foregrounding the performative interplay among art, artist, and viewer inherent to their installations. During their site visit, Bass responded to the theatrical potential and multiple perspectives of the East Gallery. These characteristics particularly shaped the kinetic sculpture, which suggests continual presence and the motion of bodies behind a curtain without ever revealing them, a preparation for performative presence endlessly held in suspense. In addition to the in-gallery components, the project will extend to the Henry’s exterior, occupying the external wall of the museum with an expansive mural “painting” in vinyl. The exhibition will open in October with a performance by the artist that highlights the relationship of the seen and unseen in the work.
Math Bass: a picture stuck in the mirror is held in conjunction with the Feminist Art Coalition (FAC), a nationwide initiative of art projects that seek to generate cultural awareness of feminist thought, experience, and action.
A brochure with a curator’s introduction and installation images will accompany the exhibition.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Math Bass earned their BA from Hampshire College and MFA from the University of California, Los Angeles. They have exhibited nationally and internationally at the Aaturp Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, Oslo, Norway; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Jewish Museum, New York; MoMA PS1, New York; and Yuz Museum, Shanghai, China. Their work is included in the permanent collections of Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego; and Yuz Museum, Shanghai, China.
Math Bass: a picture stuck in the mirror is organized by Shamim M. Momin, Director of Curatorial Affairs. Feminist Art Coalition at the Henry is made possible in part by an award from the National Endowment from the Arts. Additional support for this exhibition is provided by 4Culture.
For image and interview requests, please email press@henryart.org.
ABOUT THE HENRY
The Henry Art Gallery is internationally recognized for bold and challenging exhibitions, for being the first to premiere new works by established and emerging artists, and for highlighting contemporary art practice through a roster of multidisciplinary programs. Containing more than 27,000 works of art, the museum’s permanent collection is a significant cultural resource available to scholars, researchers, and the general public. The Henry is located on the University of Washington campus in Seattle, Washington.