‘hiding in new york’ by liu bolin image by zachary bako, courtesy of eli klein fine art
new york gallery eli klein fine art presents ‘the invisible man,’ an exhibition of work by chinese artist liu bolin. the performance artist is previously known for his ‘hiding in the city’ series, in which he concealed himself throughout beijing, so for this stateside show, bolin has produced new portraits of himself camouflaged in new york city locations: kenny scharf’s mural on houston and bowery, a newspaper stand constructed inside the gallery, and the financial district’s landmark bull statue.
standing in front of scharf’s mural, bolin adds another dimension to the street artwork image by zachary bako, courtesy of eli klein fine art
the artist stands still for hours as production assistants paint him image by zachary bako, courtesy of eli klein fine art
bolin removes the paint on his face, which has turned into a mask-like layer image by zachary bako, courtesy of eli klein fine art
the artist dressed in his chinese army fatigues before his newsstand performance image by zachary bako, courtesy of eli klein fine art
performance preparationimage by zachary bako, courtesy of eli klein fine art
the artist’s face is primed with gel to protect him from the paint image by zachary bako, courtesy of eli klein fine art
the constructed stand features local newspapers and magazines image by zachary bako, courtesy of eli klein fine art
image by zachary bako, courtesy of eli klein fine art
preparation for the performance in front of the bronze charging bull on wall street image by zachary bako, courtesy of eli klein fine art
image by zachary bako, courtesy of eli klein fine art
image by zachary bako, courtesy of eli klein fine art
image by zachary bako, courtesy of eli klein fine art
image by zachary bako, courtesy of eli klein fine art
coverage of the performances on CNN
‘the invisible man’ is on display at eli klein fine art until august 28, 2011. for more information, see designboom’s previous coverage of the exhibition.
