When you first open the door of the Fabien Castanier Gallery you are confronted by a life size figure clad all in black that appears to be looking at you through binoculars from the back of the gallery. This is one of many ominous sculptures at Mark Jenkins’ current solo exhibition Still Life.

From the press release–

Akin to traditional notions of the “still life,” his sculptures capture moments that conjure their own realities, presenting tableaus that challenge one’s sense of what is real and what is not. Jenkins constructs his people, animals, children – entities commonly filled with life – into inanimate objects, frozen in bizarre postures and scenarios. By creating these unconventional situations, he re-contextualizes commonplace ideas or things and inserts them into a new landscape in which the viewer plays an integral part.

Jenkins’ sculptures, whether placed in the street or in the gallery, alter perceptions of the ordinary and create surreal settings that infallibly elicit an alternative experience. The placement of his artwork always creates a new form of discourse central to space and audience. For the pieces he situates in the urban environment, the artist intentionally leaves the sculptures unattended to fulfill their life cycles to whatever end, may it be natural deterioration or confiscation. The viewer’s reaction to his pieces becomes part of the sculptures, turning the street into a stage. The theatricality of Mark Jenkins’ work remains a central theme, and in this solo exhibition he uses the gallery space as the performance platform, incorporating the viewers not only as spectators but as actors themselves.

The second paragraph references Jenkins’ extensive outside work which has been placed in different areas around the world. The images below (via his site) were in Malmö, Barcelona, and Rome, respectively.  More of these sculptures as well as the rest of his work can be seen here.

This show closes 10/3/15.