Isa Genzken: Retrosp. @ MoMA, Out of this World

Isa Genzken's  (b. Germany, 1948) body of work, spanning 4 decades up to the present, is an electrifying compilation of installations, sculptures, photos, paintings that is intended to shock & amuse.  Major new exhibits are usually featured on the 6th floor.  Spoiler alert:  note the installation on the ground floor with suspended astronauts & suitcases sprawled below.  It was only after viewing the show that I took in this central, stellar element of the exhibition.  I credit Genzken's pensive, irreverent & fanciful works for my epiphany.  The entrance to the show on the 6th floor is comprised of mannequins posed & dressed in various brighly colored clothing & iconic cultural objects; a prelude  for a jocular & engaging Retrospective.  Inside, her totemic sculptures, both free standing & prone are sleek & coated in jarring colors.  The way the objects respond to the space they inhabit is crucial for Genzken. "Music is in the space between the notes." (Debussy)  Look closely at the 112 gauche works on paper & observe the echo of forms with the wooden canoe shapes. The antennas on the block sculptures symbolize feelers that globalize our world.  There is a plethora of innovative assemblages hampering the monumental impact of the show in a single visit.  The exit gallery is a 9/11 Tribute that is incongruously mournful & celebratory.  Genzken has quasi-cultic recognition amongst young European artists, yet she has remained elusive in the U.S.  Outside, I was aware of the vivid orange fencing at construction sites; a material & design pervasive in many of her works. The show requires you to be vigilant.  Sorry for the buzz kill on the main floor.  However, you should take away an astute awareness of your surroundings and a feeling of exultation.