Samara Golden’s “The Flat Side of the Knife” offers a breathtaking perspective on reality (photo by twi-ny/mdr)
MoMA PS1
22-25 Jackson Ave. at 46th Ave.
Through August 30, suggested admission $10 (free with paid MoMA ticket within fourteen days except during Warm Up), 12 noon – 6:00
718-784-2084
momaps1.org
the flat side of the knife slideshow
In such installations as “Mass Murder,” “The Fireplace,” “Bad Brains,” and “Rape of the Mirror,” Michigan-born, LA-based artist Samara Golden creates surreal multimedia interiors that combine a ghostlike quality with abstract memories; looking at them, you can almost see what’s occurred in their nonexistent past. That is certainly true about her latest project, “The Flat Side of the Knife,” which continues in MoMA PS1’s vertical, multistory Duplex Gallery through August 30. Visible from several viewing points at different levels, the work is an Escher-like depiction of an impossible room with staircases, beds, a rug, windows looking out at the ocean, musical instruments, wheelchairs, plants, books, and other items, all of which are reflected in mirrors that result in a dizzying yet breathtaking illusion of reality turned upside down and inside out. Golden calls it the sixth dimension — she has also referred to her installations as exorcisms — where the past, present, and future combine, evoking abandoned film sets where something clearly happened, but there’s no way to tell exactly what; that is left for viewers to figure out, searching inside their own consciousness for clues and answers. While at PS1, be sure to also check out “Halil Altindere” Wonderland,” “Wael Shawky: Cabaret Crusades,” “Math Bass: Off the Clock,” “Jos de Gruyter & Harald Thys: Fine Arts,” “IM Heung-soon: Reincarnation,” and the Young Architects Program courtyard project “COSMO” by Andres Jaque and the Office for Political Innovation. And on Saturday, August 30, the next-to-last Warm Up dance party features Matias Aguayo, Kingdom, D∆WN, DJ Windows 98, Murlo, and FALSE WITNESS.