Chloë Bass: Wayfinding

Photo: SaVonne Anderson

The Studio Museum in Harlem presents Chloë Bass: Wayfinding, the conceptual artist’s first institutional solo exhibition. This monumental commission features twenty-four site-specific sculptures that gesture toward the structural and visual vernacular of public wayfinding signage. The exhibition begins with and revolves around three central questions, poetically penned by the artist and featured throughout the park in billboard form: How much of care is patience? How much of life is coping? How much of love is attention?

Through a combination of text and archival images, Bass’s sculptures activate an eloquent exploration of language, both visual and written, encouraging moments of private reflection in public space.

St. Nicholas Park is located along St. Nicholas Avenue between 128th and 141st Streets. Enter at 135th Street to view Chloë Bass: Wayfinding. For wheelchair access, please use the 132nd Street entrance.

Chloë Bass: Wayfinding is organized by Legacy Russell, Associate Curator, Exhibitions, and is an inHarlem project, presented by The Studio Museum in Harlem in partnership with St. Nicholas Park and NYC Parks.

Restoration work is currently being performed on works in Chloë Bass: Wayfinding at St. Nicholas Park. The exhibition remains open to the public during this time.

As part of the original narrative written by the artist for the exhibition, a version of WAYFINDING: Parts 2 +3 is currently excerpted and published on ARTS.Black.

How much of life is coping stated on mirrored billboard in St Nicholas Park

The billboards that anchor Wayfinding mirror Harlem as it transforms over time, reflecting what Bass observes as “gentrification and the quiet force it enacts” on a city in constant flux. In posing these questions, the artist seeks to build a bridge between internal thought and external social and political dialogue.

How Much of Love is Attention on mirrored billboard

Sited throughout the park at varying scales, Bass’s statements and images consider familial intimacy, desire, anxiety, and loss. Visitors can also journey through these pathways accompanied by the artist’s audio guide, which carries listeners through sharply composed vignettes that grapple with notions of place, memory, belonging, joy, and risk.

Watch

In 2018, The Studio Museum in Harlem closed its longtime home to begin construction on a new building. In the absence of a permanent gallery, the museum launched "inHarlem", a site-specific series that bring art directly to the community through displays in public spaces, libraries and parks. Conceptual artist Chloë Bass guides St. Nicholas Park on a wayfinding journey.

Listen

Listen here for the artist’s audio guide, or please dial 888.411.1250.

The Studio Museum in Harlem’s inHarlem program is made possible thanks to Citi; the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust; and The Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation. Additional support is generously provided by The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and the New York City Council; and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.