Jon Kessler
New York, NY
Jon Kessler builds chaotic kinetic installations to critiques our image-obsessed, surveillance-dominated world. His machines are at once complex and lumbering, combining mechanical know-how with kitschy materials and images. Structurally complex and narratively engaging, Jon Kessler’s multimedia sculptures often deliver an emotional punch beyond their humble means. With his distinct vocabulary, Kessler taps into our all-too-real modern-day anxieties, but at the same time, spirits us away into an exciting wonderland that is ultimately uplifting.
The Floating World
Jon Kessler builds chaotic kinetic installations to critiques our image-obsessed, surveillance-dominated world.
Artist BioThe Floating World is an immersive, kinetic installation about climate change. It takes the form of a 40-foot iceberg, constantly inflating and deflating, giving the impression that the installation is in a constant state of melting. This will be achieved by an animatronic polar bear sporting an air conditioner on his back and pedaling an exercise bike that drives the pumps. Like much of Jon Kessler’s work, this installation will entertain, exploit and critique at the same time. Viewers are free to explore the tunnels and caves of the iceberg, where they will discover mechanical video sculptures that send live feeds back to flat screen monitors built into the iceberg. Projections of flight attendants beckon the viewer, inviting them to log on to a “hot spot” and to join the Mile High Club. A chilling installation about an increasingly hot topic, The Floating World uses fear and folly to provoke a dialogue about our collective course as a planet.