Maiken Bent: Hydraulic Gear and Love Joy Coupling

 

The floor is covered in what is known as a “fitness floor,” which not only contributes a striking painterly surface but also creates a tactile, intimate experience for visitors - the rubber surface yields beneath every step. From the ceiling hang heavy, colorful chain slings, typically used in cranes and other heavy industries. In the center of the room, a large, bright blue workshop crane serves as the backbone of a major sculptural work. Within this gym/workshop framework, Bent continues to experiment with themes that have characterized her practice in recent years. Much of her time is spent scouring the internet, thrift stores, and hardware outlets for objects like boats and fishing gear, carabiners, iron chains, and frames of all shapes and sizes. To these industrial, utilitarian items, she adds a new layer of meaning. With meticulous care, she creates a kind of new "skin" by applying patchwork leather scraps sourced from the fashion industry - or by adding a touch of handmade ceramic. The exhibition title Hydraulic Gear and Love Joy Coupling is itself a found object from the internet. While it holds clear functional meaning for a specific group of people, when placed outside its original context, it becomes poetic - free to evoke thoughts and images in entirely new directions.