Carsten Nicolai, “Pionier,” parachute, wind machine, sound proof panels, timer, 2011 (photo by twi-ny/mdr)
The Pace Gallery
545 West 22nd St. between Tenth & Eleventh Aves.
Through October 22, free
www.thepacegallery.com
pionier slideshow
In such works as “thermic,” “polar,” and “rota,” Berlin-based audiovisual artist Carsten Nicolai melds the technical with the organic, the scientific with the conceptual, the artificial with the natural, delving into the creative process itself while also examining scale and proportion. He also doesn’t mind including a “wow” factor, which is a central part of his latest work, “pionier i,” on view at the Pace Gallery in Chelsea through October 22. Every four minutes, a large wind-machine, connected to a parachute, turns on, the parachute rising up horizontally, dominating the otherwise empty white gallery space. After reaching full size, it slowly crumples to the ground as the machine automatically turns off. “In my opinion the emphasis of self-generating processes is a reaction to the claim to plan everything,” Nicolai explains on his website. “Many of my works underlie a rule and introduce a model as organizing scheme to recognize chaotic movements. I am interested in both moments, they lie really close together.” An engaging work that delights visitors by placing a familiar object in an unusual location, “pionier i” can also be seen as representing the fleeting nature of life as well as that old saw, what goes up must come down.