Midden Heap by Misha Kahn

On view till 16 December, Midden Heap is an immersive installation featuring Misha Khan‘s latest works; formal explorations that combine reclaimed waste with noble materials. Mounted at New York’s Friedman Benda gallery till 16 December, the exhibition employs sand, wooden palettes, and ‘water pools’ to emulate the tension between land and sea. Mimicking the trashed-filled Rockaway Beach in which the emerging talent sources working components, the “landscape” scenography is an eerie reminder of consumer culture and its devastating impact on the environment.

Kahn explores this issue from a different angle. He draws inspiration from how nature ultimately transforms thrown-away objects. “Clusters of bags had been so entangled with each other that they now looked like kelp,” he states. “A toilet seat became a textured shell, shards of broken bottles became so wobbly and deformed they looked like translucent calamari.” With clear links to the notion of nature’s revenge, the creative equates this uncontrolled process with his own practice. For him, the predetermined planning that comes with most traditional design projects impedes the ability for spontaneity. His one-off pieces are developed intuitively – adapting to cumulative choices but also external forces. However fatalistic and abstract, Kahn’s biomorphic works derive from a holistic approach that transcends the use of craft techniques like glass-blowing, weaving, bronze casting, and the use of reclaimed trash materials. The resulting body of work demonstrates the piquancies of his own cultivated vocabulary and aesthetic.  

Misha Kahn, Midden Heap: till 16 December
Friedman Benda Gallery: 515 West 26th st.