A.I.R. Gallery is pleased to present A Million Forgotten Hours, an exhibition of new work by the A.I.R. Fellowship Artist, Jessie Henson. This exhibition will be on view from January 10th through February 3rd, the opening reception will be held on Saturday, January 12th, from 6pm – 8pm.

A Million Forgotten Hours is an installation of sculptures made of stainless steel and found objects mimicking explosions of stars. These works focus on the tiny, abandoned, or neglected things of childhood – marbles and bouncy balls – and freezes them in mid-throw. Sourced from such places as eBay, second hand stores, the artist’s own collection, and a defunct doll factory in Germany, this repurposing is both playful and haunting. Welded steel armatures create lines that swoop through space, holding up these small gems of bright color.

Henson creates a series of personal skies for her viewers, who interact with the “stars” in a very intimate way. These intricately crafted maps of the galaxy offer a commentary on the place of one person’s life in a community and the connections between the individual and society. They invite viewers to reflect on their specific place in a larger universe.

A Million Forgotten Hours negotiates the fragility and mystery of the world, while searching out the sublime and the possibility of wonder. The works further explore the tension between the concrete reality of ordinary life and the search for escape through fantasy and whimsy, making visible an interior world of play and personal narrative. Henson’s work contemplates the search for purpose in the quietest moments of our lives.

Jessie Henson has exhibited internationally, including in New York, Los Angeles and Mexico City. She was an artist-in-residence at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Art in Omaha, Nebraska, a Create Change Fellow at the Laundromat Project in New York, and has participated in the AIM program at the Bronx Museum of Art. She has also been a resident at the Vermont Studio Center, supported with a full fellowship by the Joan Mitchell Foundation. For more information, please visit www.jessiehenson.com.