By Michael McDonald
The Fifth AIM Biennial exhibit commemorates the 50th anniversary of The Bronx Museum of the Arts. The museum’s public program, known as the Artist in the Marketplace (AIM) fellowship, has nurtured the growth and development of countless New York artists since 1980. The exhibit features 68 artist’s submissions from the Bronx Museum’s AIM fellowship program. The artwork was created by the 2018 and 2019 cohort of fellows, a diverse group from Finland, South Korea, Puerto Rico and New York. Co-curated by Ian Cofre and Eva Mayhabal Davis, The Fifth AIM Biennial is a celebratory showcase of the Bronx Museum of the Art’s half century legacy.
Finnish artist Laura Lappi constructed the architectural wall sculpture, “Lucidum I” in 2021. The work was built using different layers of wood (walnut, oak, ash and maple), aluminum foil, paint and plywood.
Chinese artist Daqi Fang assembled a large-scale collage, “The Marshes,” in 2020 using laser printed sheets of newsprint paper. In addition, a small electric fan was included to provide an animation effect.
Poyen Wang, a Taiwanese artist, used 3D computer graphics combined with archival inkjet printing in order to bring his creations to life in 2020.
In “Invisible Landscape (2021),” Iranian artist Sareh Imani modeled a grass-covered mound using a combination of moss, dirt, stone and wire. A fascinating addition is a small screen placed within the large hole that features footage of an insect crawling along various plants.
Long Island native Keith Burns fabricated two life-sized busts of fictional military officers utilizing clay, plaster, shells, bones and many other materials, “Sgt. Muldoon,” 2020 and “Lt. William Fowler,” 2020. Despite being human in stature and proportions, these creations are a jarring composition of various parts and pieces.
Puerto Rican artist and scientist Ricardo Cabert makes use of numerous shapes and textures all across his work. The base layer of terrains such as sky, mountains and pyramids appear to be dwarfed by an almost “alien” technology formed by these three dimensional polygons.
Jesse Kreuzer, a New York native, seemingly depicts a modern day Civil War featuring a renewed clash over ideals that span back several generations in “Protest and Counter-Protest”, 2021.
New York artist, Clare Kambhu, fashioned a pair of oil painted canvas with, “Chair no. 16”, 2021, and “Chair no.17”, 2021. To many New York City students, the familiar floor and seat patterns are certain to be relatable for past and current generations.
A great many jalapeños filled mason jars happen to be the subjects of South Korean artist Nari Kim’s museum display, “sour, crispy, sweet, fiery”, 2021. The hours of tedious work are documented via an accompanying video which showcases the creation process from start to finish.
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