Tomas Saraceno’s Literally Uplifting Solar Rhythms
at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, NYC
Reviewed by Phoebe Hoban
As much a visionary as he is an artist, Tomas Saraceno, a visionary artist, clearly follows in the footsteps of such innovators as Buckminster Fuller, Paolo Soleri, and others whose aesthetic brilliance parallels their deep desire to sustain humanity on this planet. The influence of his friend, the great Olafur Eliasson, for whom he briefly worked as a studio assistant, is obvious. But Saraceno goes beyond flexing the muscles of his considerable technical flair to invent designs that are or can be implemented as part of his Aerocene project, started in 2015, the stated goal of which “proposes a new epoch, one of atmospherical [sic] and ecological consciousness, where we together earn how to float and live in the air, and to achieve an ethical collaboration with the environment.”
Saraceno’s other-worldly green designs are not just scientifically elegant, they are visually beautiful, marvels of luminosity, air, and equilibrium, ranging from hanging gyroscopic sculptures to Calder-influenced mobiles to flying sculptures that can carry people. Entering the ground floor of the Tanya Bonakdar Gallery is akin to entering a minimalist planetarium. A pair of giant semi-silver mylar orbs sits/levitates on the floor. These globes, (Aerocene Constellation, 3/2, 2018) were designed to be launched into the air as monitoring instruments to collect the earth’s ambient low-frequency sound (infrasound.) They are also stunning objects.
To read Hoban’s entire review, go to Riot Material magazine: https://www.riotmaterial.com/tomas-saracenos-solar-rhythms/
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