Trendy magazines are already asking if LA-based video artist Doug Aitken is "the greatest video artist in the world," and he's making his case in part with two new installations in Chelsea's 303 Gallery. "New Skin" follows in the footsteps of Aitken's sensational "Electric Earth," employing an elliptical narrative of a young woman losing her sight to reflect on perception and the desperate use of memory. To drive the point home, "New Skin" is projected simultaneously on four screens, each in the shape of an eye. "On" is more abstract, comprising an array of four circular screens running the length of a narrow room and reflected in mirrors. Landscapes projected on each screen are swallowed by circles of white light that are synced as they grow, leading to a gradual, wave-like effect as they swallow each tableau for eternity in the mirrors. "New Skin" is the more accessible (and cinematic) of the two, and Aitken should expect to ride the piece to even wider acclaim when it opens as part of the "Sonic Process" exhibition at the Pompidou Center in Paris next month.
http://www.303gallery.com
(Greg Lindsay)