Handball is an urban sport that was popularized by immigrants in the early 20th century, but Subliminal Standard is not a typical handball court. It is Ancart’s most ambitious artwork to date – a newly-built structure with nuanced and compelling painted surfaces inspired by his fascination with seemingly quotidian found forms and patterns. Here, the artist’s distinctive painting style extends beyond the frame of the canvas and outside the museum’s walls to interact with its setting in subtle ways. Ancart invites us to immerse ourselves in this extraordinary environment and to become part of its composition as we engage with our surroundings, each other, and art in a new way. In the game of handball, all you need is a ball and a wall to play. Subliminal Standard proposes that we only need our imagination to perceive the unseen beauty that surrounds us every day.
Commissioned by the Public Art Fund, Harold Ancart's Subliminal Standard interactive sculpture is on view in Cadman Plaza Park until March 1st, 2020.
