When: closing August 5, 2018
The artist Do Ho Suh has lived in several places in his life; unlike most of us, he's taken those places with him when he moves and made them into art. He has recreated hallways, doorknobs, light switches and other architectural elements from his various residences out of colored fabric. Most of them are small enough to display on a wall, but the hallways are large enough to allow visitors to walk through them, just as you would walk through an actual apartment.
Setting aside the fact that this is different, and most of the stuff is colorful and engaging, the show is about home. What is a home? Is something as utilitarian as a thermostat part of the concept of home? What about a decorative doorknob? Or a wall? Or a microwave?
Each place that we live leaves an impression on us; we take something of that place with us throughout the rest of our lives. It might be a longing to return to a place where we were happy, or a desire to get far away from a place that was unpleasant. But even less intense residences provide us with memories, things we learned, or news we heard when we lived there, or people that we met.
Suh has said that home is an endless passageway with no fixed destination. I'm not sure what that means exactly or that I agree with what I think it might mean. I think if one looks back on one's life (and obviously, some of us have more to look back on than others), one can identify places that felt like "home." One of the pieces on display is a fabric rendition of a radiator; it reminded me of my childhood home, a place that made its impression on me, for sure.
Verdict: The interactive nature of the show reminded me of installations I've seen at the Renwick. Worth a visit - it's both attractive and thought-provoking.
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