March 4, 2004
Chris Hanson and Hendrika Sonnenberg at Cohan and Leslie
An Artforum.com review of Chris Hanson and Hendrika Sonnenberg's collaborative show at Cohan and Leslie. The link dies in two months, so here's the full text:
Collaborative art practices by definition negate the myth of the solitary artist-hero. Chris Hanson and Hendrika Sonnenberg's haphazard array of life-size replicas carved from sea-blue and -green polystyrene—a JumboTron scoreboard, a Marshall amp, beer coolers, string lights, speakers, and microphones—are tied together by the duo's interest in social interaction. Each piece, whether it evokes sports arenas, rock concerts, backyard barbecues, or press conferences, nods to a group activity; at their best, they directly engage the viewer, toeing the line between sculpture and theater prop. Dozens of collages, photographs, and drawings further the theme: The "ATM Drawings," 2001–2004, which look like a cross between energetic toddlers' scribbles and astronomical charts, are plotted with nodal points mapping the social moments that make up the flow of daily life: your commute, your job, your trip to the ATM, and so on, ad infinitum.