The Edition

Marco Brambilla, based in New York and Berlin, is known primarily for his elaborate re-contextualizations of found imagery, often employing new technologies in his work. 

Apollo XVIII, which was recently shown at McCabe Fine Art, Stockholm, during Brambilla’s solo exhibition at the gallery earlier this year, uses images from NASA’s archives and computer animation to imagine a contemporary launch of a NASA rocket from the 1960s that was never sent into space. Vintage clips of Frank Borman (Commander of Apollo 8, the first mission to fly around the moon) are intercut with state-of-the-art digital simulations of a Saturn V rocket. Apollo XVIII’s flurry of nonsequential numbers builds up dramatic tension but does not culminate in a launch. Conceived as a communal public event, this work compresses the epic idea of manned space exploration into the feverish moments of anticipation just before liftoff.

Apollo XVIII will be on view at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. Opening reception will be held on Friday, November 13 at 7 pm.