Thomas Houseago's Moun Room installation transforms Hauser & Wirth Chelsea through monumental architecture

Thomas Houseago's Moun Room installation at Hauser & Wirth's Chelsea gallery creates an architectural experience that diverges from his typical figurative work. The massive white structure, constructed from Tuf-Cal with iron rebars and hemp, occupies a corner of the 18th Street warehouse space. Measuring 36 x 45-1/2 x 12 feet, the work features crescent-shaped apertures of varying sizes that reference lunar phases. Visitors navigate through two corridor-like courtyards to reach an inner sanctum, evoking both intimacy and the sublime. The installation represents a significant departure for the Los Angeles-based British artist, whose reputation has been built on edgy figurative sculptures blending contemporary provisionalism with early modernist influences. Moun Room's surfaces suggest industrial shipping containers on one side and decaying art deco architecture on the other, creating ambivalent responses that feel both monumental and precious. The work makes particularly effective use of the gallery's expansive former skating venue space, which has previously hosted large-scale sculptural presentations by artists like Matthew Day Jackson and Monika Sosnowska. The installation remains on view through January 17, 2015, at 511 West 18th Street in New York's Chelsea neighborhood.