Sheela Gowda Remains Centrestage
by Sukanya GargMay 24, 2019
•make your fridays matter with a well-read weekend
by Sukanya GargPublished on : May 23, 2019
High Line Art presented En Plein Air, a group exhibition that broadens and challenges historical ideas of outdoor painting. Opened on April 18, 2019 in New York along the length of the park, the exhibition featured newly commissioned artworks by Ei Arakawa, Firelei Báez, Daniel Buren, Sam Falls, Lubaina Himid, Lara Schnitger, Ryan Sullivan, and Vivian Suter. Presented by Friends of the High Line in New York, New York, En Plein Air is organised by Cecilia Alemani, Donald R. Mullen, Jr. Director & Chief Curator, with Melanie Kress, High Line Art Associate Curator.
High Line Art commissions and produces public art projects on and around the High Line. Founded in 2009, High Line Art presents a wide array of artwork including site-specific commissions, exhibitions, performances, video programs, and a series of billboard interventions. En Plein Air was inspired by the unique site of the High Line and examines and expands the tradition of outdoor painting. The title refers to the mid-19th-century practice of en plein air painting (French for 'in the open air'). When pre-mixed paints became readily available in tubes, and thus could be easily transported along with canvases and easels, artists brought their studios outside. The act of painting outdoors became associated with the Impressionist movement, which emphasized capturing nature and the fleeting qualities of light while depicting new perceptual and social experiences accelerated by the Industrial Revolution. The inclination to paint outside was one reaction to the overwhelming transformations of life in urban centres, as nature and cities redefined each other under the pressure of modernization—a history that connects to that of the High Line, a remnant of the industrial era of the neighborhood.
The artists in the exhibition expand well beyond the historical plein air lineage. They not only brought painting outside but imagined nature as context, subject, and collaborator. The eight featured artists approach the history, methodologies, and content of outdoor painting from a variety of perspectives. Some of the artists made work exclusively to be shown outside, while others turned nature into both the subject and the medium used to create their paintings. Still others challenge elementary distinctions between nature and the artificial. The High Line has been an apt site for the consideration of the importance of landscape painting in our time, as the natural features of the park juxtapose with the artificial scenery of the surrounding billboards, building facades and walls, and variety of advertisements.
Through the participation of an international group of artists, En Plein Air challenged the kinds of work traditionally associated with public art—sculptures and murals—by presenting freestanding, outdoor paintings that can be viewed in the round and in dialogue with the surrounding landscapes.
En Plein Air has been supported, in part, by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.
by Mrinmayee Bhoot Sep 05, 2025
Rajiv Menon of Los Angeles-based gallery Rajiv Menon Contemporary stages a showcase at the City Palace in Jaipur, dwelling on how the Indian diaspora contends with cultural identity.
by Vasudhaa Narayanan Sep 04, 2025
In its drive to position museums as instruments of cultural diplomacy, competing histories and fragile resistances surface at the Bihar Museum Biennale.
by Srishti Ojha Sep 01, 2025
Magical Realism: Imagining Natural Dis/order’ brings together over 30 artists to reimagine the Anthropocene through the literary and artistic genre.
by Srishti Ojha Aug 29, 2025
The art gallery’s inaugural exhibition, titled after an ancient mnemonic technique, features contemporary artists from across India who confront memory through architecture.
make your fridays matter
SUBSCRIBEEnter your details to sign in
Don’t have an account?
Sign upOr you can sign in with
a single account for all
STIR platforms
All your bookmarks will be available across all your devices.
Stay STIRred
Already have an account?
Sign inOr you can sign up with
Tap on things that interests you.
Select the Conversation Category you would like to watch
Please enter your details and click submit.
Enter the 6-digit code sent at
Verification link sent to check your inbox or spam folder to complete sign up process
by Sukanya Garg | Published on : May 23, 2019
What do you think?