Gallery Insider: White Columns

Openings have slowed to a trickle recently, but this week, White Columns in the West Village hosts Fia Backström’s groundbreaking new show that showcases societal interactions in a whole new way.

Opening Wednesday June 18, 6-8 pm
White Columns, 320 West 13th Street (entrance on Horatio Street)

White Columns is in a realm of its own, tucked between the West Village and the Meatpacking district, but its unique location makes it an excellent jumping off point for dining or bar-hopping during the course of an evening.

In her newly commissioned installation, Fia Backström creates an imageless environment-one whose layers are built up over time as remnants of social interactions-recordings and transcripts from exchanges that take place in the space. If you go to White Columns expecting neat paintings lined up along the wall, guess again. This show is literally about art as the product of society-not translated into an image by a single being, but in a more elemental form, as a myriad of contributions from a collection of individuals.

In addition to Backström’s main installation, White Columns has three smaller installations by Céline Duval, Barry van Boekel, and Oliver Wasow. All are loosely unified as collections of found or contributed images or sounds. Go to White Columns with an open mind and you will enjoy yourself thoroughly.