NEW YORK—Radiators are often the eye sores in the room, but stack 131 of them and the mix of volume, architectural details and patinas creates an impressive installation. Bharti Kher works with found objects often using quantity for impact. The London-born, Delhi-based artist is currently showing five works at Hauser & Wirth. “Hot winds that blow from the West,” features new installations that respond to the interior space of the gallery, which is housed in an Upper East side townhouse.
Detail “The hot winds that blow from the West,” 2011 (131 old radiators).
The exhibit includes a staircase to nowhere salvaged from an old house in India, the radiators and a room of 27 gold-framed mirrors with shattered glass that are embellished with a series of bindis that look like strands of black pearls. According to the gallery, Kher “plays with mythology, cultural and gender stereotypes, and tropes of domesticity to map a route on which viewers may travel between the familiar and alien, the mundane and divine.”
The exhibit is on view from March 6 to April 14, 2012.
All photos by Arts Observer
Two of the exhibits key installations are on the main floor. Above, “A line through space and time,” 2011 (wood, paint and bindis). The staircase was salvaged from an old house in India.
The staircase is splashed with red paint and adorned with “a swarm of black, sperm-shaped bindis [decals], the iconic personal affect of Indian women that is one of Kher’s signature materials and is a loaded symbol.”
The underside of the 17-foot-long staircase reveals more of its natural character.
“The messenger,” 2011 (fiberglass, wooden rake, saree and resin).
Detail of “The messenger” on the second floor.
Detail of “Reveal the secrets that you keep” with “The messenger” in the background.
“Reveal the secrets that you seek,” 2011 (27 shattered mirrors, wooden frames and bindis). The installation includes mirrors of various shapes and dimensions with gold-painted frames.
“The hot winds that blow from the West” is installed in a back room with a sky light.
Detail of “The hot winds that blow from the West” reveal its decorative features and patinas.