Albany International Airport announces the installation of MIGRATION HOUSE, a site-specific project by Hudson Valley artist Robert Hite

Article source: roberthite.com/blog

Albany, NY – The Albany International Airport has commissioned a new, large-scale sculpture titled Migration House, which will be on view beyond the security checkpoint in concourse A of the Airport’s terminal through 2020. The reclaimed wood and metal sculpture is by Hudson Valley-based artist, Robert Hite, whose rural southern roots and ongoing exploration of the developing world have deeply influenced his work, and are particularly evident in this site-specific installation.

Migration House is the latest stage of a progression of the artist’s work which speaks to the shared realities of the human experience, empathically informed his vision of the traveller in all of us. “We all want home, to reside safely,” Hite explains. “To escape the known for the unknown—to cross borders—is a leap of faith across a deep chasm of fear. It is the story of us, and it is how we evolve.”

Whether departing or arriving, travelers will find that Migration House evokes that empathetic idea of home – a shelter which can provide refuge for dreams and aspirations as well as protection from the elements. “In my youth,” Hite says, “I would return at dusk from forays along winding back roads, murky swamps and thick forest. I could then absorb my amazement at what exists in this life from the safety and sanctity of my home.” Imposing in scale – at 9 feet high and 21 feet wide - the structure is supported by stilts that perch tenuously on wooden lathe hills that form a kind of landscape. It bears the hallmarks of Hite’s work: weathered, scavenged patchworks, undulating rooflines, and doors and windows deftly framed, seemingly, with what’s at hand.

Integral to the completion of each sculpture in this series—including Migration House—is its photographic documentation in a carefully selected outdoor environment: an ongoing body of work Hite calls Imagined Histories. Kathy Greenwood, Director of the Albany International Airport’s Art & Culture Program, invited the artist to expand upon the presentation of Migration House with an exhibition of additional sculptures and large-scale black and white prints in the adjacent Concourse A Gallery, a 130 lf. space within that corridor dedicated to temporary exhibitions. Above the Fray will feature eleven photographs, including a new representation of Migration House sited in a Hudson Valley landscape, and four sculptures. It will be on view from February 9 – October 24, 2018.

Greenwood commented that “Migration House alone is sure to resonate with travelers from near and far. Robert’s interest in architecture that is both hand-wrought and habitable, as well as the strong narrative implications of the photographs, made the development of Above the Fray a natural extension of the sculpture installation.”

The Albany International Airport’s Art & Culture Program is pleased to include Migration House within its series of temporary site-specific and sculpture presentations that are placed throughout the terminal. The Program also hosts exhibitions featuring regional artists and cultural institutions in the Albany International Airport Gallery, Concourse A Gallery - where Above the Fray will appear - and the Exhibition Case Program. Additionally, the program’s retail operation, DEPARTURE, The Shop of Capital Region Museums, is a unique shopping venue that has been lauded nationally and prized locally.

The Albany International Airport’s Art & Culture Program is devoted to showcasing the cultural vitality of New York’s Capital Region through exhibitions and installations throughout the Airport’s terminal. Such presentations enhance the experience of airport travelers, and foster the advancement of a thriving creative community. http://albanyairport.com/art

About Robert Hite

Robert Hite is a sculptor, painter, photographer and filmmaker, who has called the Hudson Valley his home for the past 20 years. Representations of structures, dwellings, and living spaces have become central to his work, and serve to communicate a unique language which draws from the experiences of his youth and filters them through his reactions to the present. Hite was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim fellowship in 2014, and has exhibited widely; recent solo exhibitions include the Nassau County Museum, the Berkshire Museum and Hancock Shaker Museum.