Standing at over thirty feet tall, Olaf Breuning's Clouds tower over and in front of their surrounding landscape. Held in place by rudimentary steel supports, these comical clouds are cut from polished aluminum and powder-coated in different hues of bright blue. In this work, the artist has created a cartoon-like representation of an atmospheric and light element normally floating freely in the sky and attempted to reinsert them into the landscape. However, without the magic of the natural world — these clouds do not float — they are instead hoisted and held in place by heavy-duty structures, referencing both the scaffolding found around a construction site or the format of a large billboard. Clouds exists as a visual pun about the flatness that happens when humans attempt to depict the natural world. In contrast to the romantic depth that has dominated depictions of the landscape in the Hudson Valley for hundreds of years, the artist has created a simple, frontal symbol for landscape.

Courtesy of Metro Pictures. This exhibition is made possible in part with support from the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia.