Stainless steel and steel, 2018
Permanent installation on the F line, NY
18th Avenue and Kings Highway stations
Fabricated by KC Fabrications
Photographs by Peter Peirce
Project managers Yaling Chen and Bridget Donlon
Brooklyn-based artist Julien Gardair created We are each others for the Kings Highway and 18th Avenue Stations. The artwork depicts figural sculptures with seating elements and whimsical windscreen panels. Figures from local history as well as present-day residents were the inspiration for the stainless steel sculptures. The artist refers to the early days of the area such as the arrival of European settlers and the foundation of the Culver train line at the turn of the 20th century bringing an expansion of residents in South Brooklyn. This series of joyful sculptures also captures themes of family life and resourcefulness in the neighborhood. Each sculpture is strictly made from a single piece of metal, cut along one continuous line and folded.
The sculptures are linked to one another by ornemental windscreens. For these the artist drew a line that divides a panel in 2 parts. Each piece is repeated, then arranged in multiple ways to create 14 unique configurations. The positive and negative arrangements mirror each other from across the platform at each station.
Gardair created all of the artwork with a no-waste design framework which relates to the future of the neighborhood and the environmental impact of all of New York City. Passengers will travel through time and imagination on their commute when experiencing Julien Gardair’s We are each others artwork at these two Culver Line Stations.
Serious Play: Translating Form, Subverting Meaning is devoted to an exploration of forms of play as a process in contemporary art.
Traditionally seen as an activity of childhood, for enjoyment and recreation rather than for serious or practical purpose, play is also at the heart of artistic practice. Processes and values that inform play – making, taking apart and crafting back together, transforming space, and improvising – can be equally applied to the process of artistic creation in the studio. Serious intent, however, defines artists engaging in the realm of play.
BRIC, is an art center located in downtown Brooklyn, New York.
The show was curated by Elizabeth Ferrer and Jenny Gerow and included artists Chris Bogia, Damien Davis, Kat Chamberlin, Ronny Quevedo, Amanda Valdez and Julien Gardair.
Artists Chris Bogia, Damien Davis, Kat Chamberlin, and Ronny Quevedo provide tools to embolden the viewer through the act of play to think differently about issues of gender, race, and class. For Amanda Valdez and Julien Gardair, play with the materiality of paint and cloth instructs an awareness of the mutability of shapes and ideas. For all six artists, embracing the forms of childhood play that encourage experimentation, chance, failure, and humor provides a roadmap into better ways of being in the world.
French-born, Brooklyn-based artist Julien Gardair makes carpets, paper cutouts, paintings, sculptures, video, and everything in between. This proclivity for smooth sail between forms in context of specific sites globally paired with his insatiable explorations, make his body of work versatile, whimsical and layered.
