World’s Fairs: Lost Utopias, debuts in New York

In the front gallery, Jade Doskow’s large-scale color photographs illustrate the utopian iconic architecture and art remaining after the close of 1960’s world’s fairs, and the arbitrary nature of what has been preserved, discarded, or repurposed on these sites. In the cities represented here, New York dominates, in celebration of the 50-year anniversary. The crowning glory that still remains is the New York State Pavilion, an unusual, dynamic carousel-like structure designed by Philip Johnson. Doskow’s two photographs of the Pavilion - from 2007 and 2014 - illustrate the strange beauty of this mammoth creation in various stages of decay and regrowth. The other cities shown here from this project include Paris, Brussels, Seattle, Montréal, and San Antonio.

“It’s exciting to debut Doskow’s seven year project after seeing it develop year by year, and the 50-year anniversary of the New York Site provided the perfect occasion for this exhibition,” says curator Kipton Cronkite.

World’s Fairs / Lost Utopias. Curators.- Onishi Project and Kipton Cronkite.
Dates.- from 28 May through 10 June 2014.
Venue.- Onishi Project. (Downstairs) 521 West 26th Street, New York, NY 10001, USA.

The seminal Robert Rauschenberg piece Autobiography, also on display in the front gallery,is echoed in Doskow’s work---most notably an image of an early Buckminster Fuller geodesic dome from the 1967 Montréal World’s Fair. During the 1960’s Rauschenberg was wholly immersed in an understanding of the relationship between art and technology, and was influenced by the writings and philosophies of Buckminster Fuller. Also accompanying Doskow’s work is a documentary work-in-progress by award winning filmmaker Philip Shane, illustrating the process and scope of Doskow’s artistic journey.