b. 1979, Omaha, Neb.; lives and works in Honolulu
Honolulu Biennial 2017 artist

Stone Cloud
2017
Inflatable sculpture of photographically printed nylon and air blower
84 x 192 x 144 in
Unique, accompanied by a certificate of authenticity

Exhibited | Honolulu Biennial 2017, Foster Botanical Garden, Honolulu, Honolulu Biennial Foundation; Roppongi Art Night 2019, “Metro Hat,” Roppongi Metro Station, Tokyo, Mori Art Museum; SURRENDER (solo exhibition), Nā Lama Kukui Lifestyle & Design Center, Honolulu, 2022, NLK +Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

Andrew Binkley’s installation Stone Cloud sparks a magical moment by creating a shift in perception. What appears to be a large boulder, inanimate and bound to the earth, is an inflatable form floating in the sky. An island unto itself, Stone Cloud hovers above the landscape, yet is tethered to the ground. Binkley’s sculpture is covered in photographs of stones obtained from sea level, up to mountain peaks, that have been digitally manipulated to form the pattern of one large boulder. The tension between the reality and non-reality of this work questions what we believe to be solid and stable, conjuring feelings of impermanence, uncertainty, and transcendence. The artist suggests that within stillness and solidity, there is always movement and change.

Stone Cloud is a pivotal piece in Binkley’s art practice, merging his interests in the use of inflatables, site-specific work, and the sense of floating through letting go.  An interdisciplinary artist, Binkley’s work reflects on the stages we go through toward awakening and letting go. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, he attended the Kansas City Art Institute, but left to live throughout China, which eventually led to his ordaining as a Buddhist monk in Thailand for several years. This profound period shaped his approach to art and, after leaving monastic life, he devoted himself to bridging the two practices together.

He has since exhibited internationally with the Mori Art Museum (Tokyo), the Downtown Film Festival (Los Angeles), the Queens Museum of Art (New York), Shanghai Zendai Museum of Modern Art (China), The Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts (Taiwan), and Honolulu Biennial (Hawaiʻi). He has exhibited site-specific public works in an ancient English castle, a Polish WWII air-raid shelter, a Tokyo subway station, the cracked grounds of the former Spalding House Museum, as well as a mountain in the high-desert of Joshua Tree National Park, and the streets of Seattle with 4Culture + the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He was the recipient of the 2009 Cynthia Eyre Award, nominated by Laura Hoptman, senior curator of the New Museum, New York, and the 2010 Best of Show award by Carol McCusker PhD, curator of Photography at the Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego. Binkley’s works may be found within the collections of Shanghai Zendai MoMA, the Buhl Collection, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and Hawai‘i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts.

See also | Self Portrait by Andrew Binkley Item 141

+ + +

All artworks ship from Honolulu. Shipping costs are the responsibility of the buyer. Applicable sales tax will apply to all works shipped within Hawaiʻi. Please note, bidders will be charged for the total purchase price; 3% processing fee, 2.9% credit card transaction fee, plus $0.30 per transaction, if applicable; and any sales tax, based on your registration address. For transactions over $10,000, you will be given the option to pay via wire transfer. Please direct inquiries to events@hawaiicontemporary.org.