Descending the basement stairs of Salon 94 last Thursday night felt like stepping into the innards of reality TV. As soon as I entered the room, I was engulfed by a myriad of faces, both real and cardboard. Adding to the paint-splattered space were monitors streaming live surveillance footage of the room, a miniature model of the exhibition itself, mixed-media canvasses, and sculpture. It was stimulation overload, and at times disorientating (picture me excusing myself 17 times to a cardboard figure!).
Kessler's basement is an eerily accurate portrayal of the surveillance-heavy world we live in, and by the end I was itching to get out—an impatience I'm sure he aimed to instill in his audience. Too much of anything (I'm looking at you, voyeurism and reality TV) is never a good thing.
SALON 94
243 Bowery
New York, NY 10002
MAP
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Cameras were in every nook and cranny, recording the event
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This gallery-within-a-gallery contained miniature versions of Kessler's paintings
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John
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Mike and Morgan
Kessler's basement is an eerily accurate portrayal of the surveillance-heavy world we live in, and by the end I was itching to get out—an impatience I'm sure he aimed to instill in his audience. Too much of anything (I'm looking at you, voyeurism and reality TV) is never a good thing.
SALON 94
243 Bowery
New York, NY 10002
MAP
![](http://www.openingceremony.us/userfiles/image/news/feb12/020312-blue-period/020612-john-kessler_5.jpg)
![](http://www.openingceremony.us/userfiles/image/news/feb12/020312-blue-period/020612-john-kessler_2.jpg)
![](http://www.openingceremony.us/userfiles/image/news/feb12/020312-blue-period/020612-john-kessler_4.jpg)
![](http://www.openingceremony.us/userfiles/image/news/feb12/020312-blue-period/020312-blue-period07.jpg)
Cameras were in every nook and cranny, recording the event
![](http://www.openingceremony.us/userfiles/image/news/feb12/020312-blue-period/020612-john-kessler_8.jpg)
![](http://www.openingceremony.us/userfiles/image/news/feb12/020312-blue-period/020612-john-kessler_6.jpg)
![](http://www.openingceremony.us/userfiles/image/news/feb12/020312-blue-period/020612-john-kessler_17.jpg)
![](http://www.openingceremony.us/userfiles/image/news/feb12/020312-blue-period/020612-john-kessler_18.jpg)
![](http://www.openingceremony.us/userfiles/image/news/feb12/020312-blue-period/020612-john-kessler_19.jpg)
![](http://www.openingceremony.us/userfiles/image/news/feb12/020312-blue-period/020612-john-kessler_21.jpg)
![](http://www.openingceremony.us/userfiles/image/news/feb12/020312-blue-period/020312-blue-period14.jpg)
This gallery-within-a-gallery contained miniature versions of Kessler's paintings
![](http://www.openingceremony.us/userfiles/image/news/feb12/020312-blue-period/020612-john-kessler_15.jpg)
![](http://www.openingceremony.us/userfiles/image/news/feb12/020312-blue-period/020612-john-kessler_16.jpg)
![](http://www.openingceremony.us/userfiles/image/news/feb12/020312-blue-period/020612-john-kessler.jpg)
John
![](http://www.openingceremony.us/userfiles/image/news/feb12/020312-blue-period/020612-john-kessler_12.jpg)
Mike and Morgan