Two prominent galleries, Marian Goodman and Hauser & Wirth, launched exhibitions featuring empty rooms. Marian Goodman showcases Bruce Nauman's 'Pasadena Years', including a notable room with no art, encouraging self-reflection. Meanwhile, Hauser & Wirth presents David Hammons's 'Concerto in Black and Blue', an immersive experience in darkness that requires visitors to navigate the space with flashlights. Both exhibitions challenge viewers to explore themes of absence, perception, and the very nature of art itself, transforming empty spaces into profound environments for introspection.
"The piece has a lot to do with disappearance," says Marian Goodman gallery president Philipp Kaiser, who curated the show. "For me, the piece is about centring your body, walking into the void and feeling your own finality."
Visitors must lock away their phones before receiving a small blue flashlight. When they enter, they can feel their way through the space, encounter flashes from other people's lights..."
The idea of an empty room is itself a dialectical coin begging to be flipped: once inside, a viewer is almost bound to perceive the exit sign, dust motes or their own feet in new ways.
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