This past weekend I went to see Dan Flavin's "Corners, Barriers, and Corridors" show at the David Zwirner gallery in NYC. The DZ gallery is one of my favorites in Chelsea, and they always seem to have the best exhibitions going on. I've been to two great Yayoi Kusama shows hosted by DZ in the last few years, and when I heard Dan Flavin was going to have an exclusive show there - I could not get my butt to the gallery faster! ;)
When I was first introduced to Dan Flavin's body of work, I fell in love with his use of fluorescent lights and eye for bold color. This display of Flavin's work was extra special because his work was really allowed to breathe into the space that it was in. It was fun to see how the light bounced from piece to piece between the different divisions within the exhibition. (The name of the show was so fitting!) Often times I feel like Flavin's work generally gets displayed amongst other artists (i.e. museums, the Armory Show, etc.) - it's a rare and special thing to experience multiples of his work that flow from one to the next. The light that radiated from each piece illuminated the entire space, and while walking through the gallery I had actually heard someone compare the experience to James Turrell's work - which is a great comparison.
Last summer I went to the Dia Bridgehampton Dan Flavin House on Long Island, and that was the only other time I had seen a solo showing of Flavin's work. Here are a few photos from that trip:
I spent probably over an hour (at David Zwirner) just going back and forth between the different divisions and observing every piece / room from every angle I possibly could. I enjoyed watching silhouetted figures walk through the vibrantly lit space, and I took an obnoxious amount of pictures (as usual) - because the photo op was epic (as anticipated).
I was alone, so I enlisted a few strangers to take photos of me (because I couldn't pass up the opportunity). There was a rare moment when the large yellow / green room was completely empty and I asked this girl to take a photo of me while I ran towards the back wall, lol (the 1st photo in this post).
Asking strangers to take your photo is always awkward (hi I don't know you but can you take my pic while I go stand over and try to not look like a complete idiot?), but I'm glad I made the effort despite that awkwardness. I had a lot of fun observing other people interact with Flavin's work, and I didn't want to leave without capturing a few of myself in the space. By the time I left, I had 3 different people take my photo - and in exchange I had taken theirs. Later, I even connected with one of those people on Instagram. The nature of the space itself not only encouraged interaction with the art, but interaction with other people who were interacting with the art! ;)
Also, I'm quickly learning that my go-to "blogger pose" seems to be the *throw your hands up in the air* pose ... and on this particular day I also felt like throwing up peace signs (don't ask me why, because I honestly have no idea)... lol.
The show ends on October 24, so if you are in NYC and have not seen it yet - what are you waiting fooooor?! GO GO GO !