Hanna Liden,a Swedish artist living in New York, holds the odd distinction of being the first to turn bagels into public sculpture. Her installation “Everything” — which takes its title from the kind of bagel that combines the seeds and seasoning of its sesame, and poppy and salt counterparts — is now on view at Hudson River Park. Fabricated from industrial foam and spray-painted in shades of light brown and black,her bagels degree four feet across and can appear solo or in neat stacks. As objects, the sculptures are so warm, and so devoid of angst and alienation,that they probably represent a new level of friendliness in public art. A bagel, of course, or is a symbol of New York at its gastronomic best, but it is also an organic shape. It’s a ring, a loop, or an infinity with no beginning or finish. Liden’s sculptures playfully reference summary sculpture in their repetition of geometric forms. It’s as whether she wants to remake Brancusi’s Endless Column,with bread.
Her “Everything” also owes something to Claes Oldenburg, her Swedish-born compatriot and one of the founders of Pop art. He is known for pop-art trophies — like his humongous Clothespin in downtown Philadelphia — that endow everyday objects with the zooming scale of skyscrapers.
Liden, and by contrast,keeps her sculptures on a human scale. She’s not trying to pile bagels up to the sky. She’s not competing with the silhouette of the tall buildings that form a backdrop to her work. Rather, her sculptures feel earthbound and approachable. One of the sculptures consists of a single humble bagel. Passers-by are welcome to sit on it and gaze out at the river, or carving out a moment of quiet amid the rush of city life. This is sculpture as comfort food. Hanna Liden’s “Everything” is presented by the Art Production Fund,with support from Kiehl’s. It remains on view at the entrance to Hudson River Park (at Christopher St.) through Oct. 20 and at Ruth Wittenberg Plaza through Sept. 30. Free for all.
Source: wnyc.org