Introducing Disturbing Elements into Neutral Art Venues

Configured as a rollercoaster, Distance, created in 2004, explores Jeppe HeinÂ’s interest in art as a game. Consisting of a set of rails roughly 1,000 feet in length, Distance dips and rolls, continually switching back on itself in loops. As the viewer enters the exhibition space, he/she activates a sensor that shoots a large white ball along the rails along which it will roll through twists and turns in the gallery space. The viewer is able to follow the ballÂ’s course by foot, tracing its movement across the gallery and at the same time, becoming an active participant in the installation. Hein revels in exploiting the deceptive potential of his work. His installations can best be described as interventions since they introduce disturbing elements into neutral art venues or public spaces that destabilize the art viewing habits of the gallery visitor.

The pared-down geometrical objects in these installations obey the formal principles of minimal or c onceptual art, but in keeping with Duchampian tradition, they become real works of art when the viewer innocently activates them. HeinÂ’s objective is to establish an incongruous dialogue between the art and the viewer and to use humor to broaden the limits of conceptual art. This project was originally created for the Ludwig Forum, Aachen, Germany, and later it was presented at Dunkers Kulturhus in Helsingborg, Sweden. The Moore Space version is the largest presentation of this work so far and it is the first solo exhibition of the artistÂ’s work in the United States.

Born in 1974 in Copenhagen, Jeppe Hein studied at the Royal Academy of Arts of Copenhagen and in the Hochschule für Bildende Künste of Frankfurt. He lives and works in Berlin. He had a solo exhibition at the Centre Pompidou, Paris in the Fall of 2005. In addition, Hein has shown at the Venice Biennial in 2003 and at PS1 in New York.

DISTANCE, Jeppe Hein at The Moore Space. Guest Curator: Christine Macel, curator for contemporary art in charge of the Department of Prospective and Contemporary Creation, Musée National d’art moderne, the Centre Pompidou, Paris.