Drive the Herd

"If American culture’s dominating metaphor is, as one cultural historian posited, the penetration of space (To boldly go where no one has gone before!), then Shawn HibmaCronan’s mechanically enhanced mobile chairs — wheelchair (“Lois Frost”), recliner (“Air Ride Chair”), lifeguard seat (“Perch”) fisherman’s seat (“Angler”), and classroom chair (“Escape Desk”) — examine our hurry-up-and-wait mindset with absurdist wit and immaculate workmanship. The artist: “No material is disguised and no mechanism is hidden. My work is meant to be picked up, poked at, sat in, and rolled around … physical interaction with the work is absolutely necessary.” Taking the pieces for a spin may not be feasible here, but your mind will still race. See the documentation on “PRESS,” a printing apparatus dedicated to one word: Freedom. Which way to the frontier? Follow the crowds. Drive the Herd, curated by Anja Ulfeldt, runs through May 7 at Basement Gallery Oakland." — DeWitt Cheng