Puerto Rican artist Radamés Juni Figueroa at the group show Mutations by High Line Art, New York

La casita amarilla, Radamés Juni Figueroa / Biennial of the Américas 2015


New York, NY  – Presented by Friends of the High Line, High Line Art is pleased to announce Mutations, an open-air exhibition that explores the relationship between man and nature, looking at how the boundaries between the natural world and culture are defined, crossed, and obliterated. The exhibition is inspired by the High Line as a controlled environment that encapsulates, on the one hand, the modern dream of humans taming nature, and on the other, the promise of nature reclaiming its control. 

The exhibition, which is on view from April 2017 – March 2018, asks: as technology becomes more invisible and genetic engineering more conceivable, how do the delineations between nature and culture shift and transform? With new technologies of biological engineering emerging daily, spontaneous life and natural wonders lose their mystery, and our complex role as meddler and creator becomes more hotly debated. We encounter the relationship between technology and biology in a variety of contexts: from ones as beneficial as synthetic prosthesis; to the controversial topics of stem cell research and genetic modification; to science-fiction visions of artificial intelligence. 

The artists in Mutations explore the 2 many facets of this relationship, wondering about augmented or collaged natural forms, the ways our own bodies are transformed by technological inventions, and the blurred boundaries between natural life and human intervention. The works featured in the exhibition crisscross the uncanny valley between the unnatural and the all too human and between the laughably futuristic and the bizarrely contemporary. Featuring Larry Bamburg, Alisa Baremboym, Sascha Braunig, Dora Budor, Radames Juni Figueroa, Guan Xiao, Marguerite Humeau, Veit Laurent Kurz, Joanna Malinowska, Jumana Manna, Jon Rafman and Max Hooper Schneider. 

Chamanes obra de Radamés Juni Figueroa, 2016

Radamés Juni Figueroa (b. 1982, Puerto Rico. Lives and works in San Juan) builds site-specific gathering spaces from rudimentary, and often found, building materials. Everyday life in the tropics is central to Figueroa’s work as a visual reference and central thread that runs through his body of work. For the High Line, Figueroa occupies one of the construction sheds on the High Line. Located underneath the multi-year scaffolding at the Rail Yards, Figueroa’s structure functions as a site for public programming for the High Line community.

ABOUT HIGH LINE ART Presented by Friends of the High Line, High Line Art commissions and produces public art projects on and around the High Line. Founded in 2009, High Line Art presents a wide array of artwork including site-specific commissions, exhibitions, performances, video programs, and a series of billboard interventions. Curated by Cecilia Alemani, the Donald R. Mullen, Jr. Director & Chief Curator of High Line Art, and produced by Friends of the High Line, High Line Art invites artists to think of creative ways to engage with the uniqueness of the architecture, history, and design of the High Line and to foster a productive dialogue with the surrounding neighborhood and urban landscape. For further information on High Line Art, please visit art.thehighline.org. 

 obra de Radamés Juni Figueroa, 2016

ABOUT FRIENDS OF THE HIGH LINE Friends of the High Line raises 98% of the High Line’s annual budget. Owned by the City of New York, the High Line is a public park maintained, operated, and programmed by Friends of the High Line, in partnership with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. 

SUPPORT Mutations is supported, in part, by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. Major support for High Line Art comes from Donald R. Mullen, Jr. and The Brown Foundation, Inc. of Houston. Additional funding is provided by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. High Line Art is supported, in part, with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the New York City Council and from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. 

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