Outlooks: Jean Shin
May 4 – November 24, 2019
For the seventh iteration of Storm King Art Center’s Outlooks series, artist Jean Shin has chosen to respond to a conservation project on Storm King’s grounds: twenty-four declining maple trees are being replaced with black gum, or tupelo, trees that will better stand up to changes in local climate and ground conditions. This is part of an ongoing effort to revitalize Storm King’s Maple Allée, an important historic feature in the landscape.
Shin has salvaged the wood from many trees that were removed as part of this revitalization to create a monumental picnic table. Her ensuing work, Allée Gathering, offers a communal place to rest and come together in conversation, observation, and reflection. Timber cut from several tree trunks from the former Allée are connected in one continuous, horizontal tabletop lined with benches. The vertical bisections make visible the trees’ inner cores while also revealing hidden signs of their demise. Allée Gathering preserves the memory of the lost vista in a new form, bringing attention to tree health, as well as to the intensive labor required to maintain Storm King’s landscape.
While young black gum trees now line the Allée, the maple tree stumps will remain for the duration of the exhibition to mark this transition between the two changing landscapes. Shin has also worked with Storm King’s staff to tap remaining maple trees in various states of health for syrup to further archive the presence of this unique species on-site at Storm King. Through syrup tastings, public programs, and conversations at the communal table, Shin’s project offers multiple sensory experiences of nature, place, and time.
Outlooks, now in its seventh year, is an exhibition series that invites one emerging or mid-career artist to engage with Storm King’s landscape and history and create a new, site-specific work to be installed on-site for a single season.
Outlooks: Jean Shin is made possible by generous lead support from the Hazen Polsky Foundation, Ronald and Sandra Kossar in honor of H. Peter Stern, the Lipman Family Foundation, the Ohnell Charitable Lead Trust, and the Pollock-Krasner Foundation. Support is also provided by Janet Inskeep Benton, The Cowles Charitable Trust, and Roberta and Steven Denning.
Exhibition-related programming and outreach is made possible by generous lead support from the Mr. and Mrs. Raymond J. Horowitz Foundation for the Arts. Support is also provided by the Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation. Additional support is provided by Ronald and Sandra Kossar in honor of H. Peter Stern, and the Sidney E. Frank Foundation. Special thanks to the Goldie Anna Charitable Trust. Artist talks are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.
Image: Jean Shin, Process documentation for Allée Gathering, 2019. Recycled maple wood and steel. Dimensions variable. Courtesy the artist
Shin has salvaged the wood from many trees that were removed as part of this revitalization to create a monumental picnic table. Her ensuing work, Allée Gathering, offers a communal place to rest and come together in conversation, observation, and reflection. Timber cut from several tree trunks from the former Allée are connected in one continuous, horizontal tabletop lined with benches. The vertical bisections make visible the trees’ inner cores while also revealing hidden signs of their demise. Allée Gathering preserves the memory of the lost vista in a new form, bringing attention to tree health, as well as to the intensive labor required to maintain Storm King’s landscape.
While young black gum trees now line the Allée, the maple tree stumps will remain for the duration of the exhibition to mark this transition between the two changing landscapes. Shin has also worked with Storm King’s staff to tap remaining maple trees in various states of health for syrup to further archive the presence of this unique species on-site at Storm King. Through syrup tastings, public programs, and conversations at the communal table, Shin’s project offers multiple sensory experiences of nature, place, and time.
Outlooks, now in its seventh year, is an exhibition series that invites one emerging or mid-career artist to engage with Storm King’s landscape and history and create a new, site-specific work to be installed on-site for a single season.
Outlooks: Jean Shin is made possible by generous lead support from the Hazen Polsky Foundation, Ronald and Sandra Kossar in honor of H. Peter Stern, the Lipman Family Foundation, the Ohnell Charitable Lead Trust, and the Pollock-Krasner Foundation. Support is also provided by Janet Inskeep Benton, The Cowles Charitable Trust, and Roberta and Steven Denning.
Exhibition-related programming and outreach is made possible by generous lead support from the Mr. and Mrs. Raymond J. Horowitz Foundation for the Arts. Support is also provided by the Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation. Additional support is provided by Ronald and Sandra Kossar in honor of H. Peter Stern, and the Sidney E. Frank Foundation. Special thanks to the Goldie Anna Charitable Trust. Artist talks are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.
Image: Jean Shin, Process documentation for Allée Gathering, 2019. Recycled maple wood and steel. Dimensions variable. Courtesy the artist
Video by Graham Mason
Past Events
Children & Families: Maple PrintsJuly 14, 2019
Exhibition Program: Outlooks Jean ShinJune 1, 2019
Artworks
Allée Gathering, 2019