Recessionale I

2008
Paul Chan

Digital video projection

10min.

In the darkness of a bluish background filling an entire room, shadows move along the walls, caught in powerful beams of light. This mysterious, spellbinding visual version of Plato's cave fosters contemplation and leads us into a parallel space-time.

Activism and fierce criticism of the American government marks much of Paul Chan's work, but a series of strikingly beautiful videos have a more poetic, reflective dimension. Recessionale I is one of them.

Acquired by the Pinault Collection, Recessionale I was shown to the public in 2012 during the exhibition entirely devoted to the moving image, "Parole des Images" (“Word of Images”), at the Palazzo Grassi in Venice.

Exhibitions
Courtesy the Artist and Greene Naftali, New York Photograph: Jason Mandella
Courtesy the Artist and Greene Naftali, New York Photograph: Jason Mandella
Courtesy the Artist and Greene Naftali, New York Photograph: Jason Mandella
Courtesy the Artist and Greene Naftali, New York Photograph: Jason Mandella
Courtesy the Artist and Greene Naftali, New York Photograph: Jason Mandella
Courtesy the Artist and Greene Naftali, New York Photograph: Jason Mandella
Courtesy the Artist and Greene Naftali, New York Photograph: Jason Mandella