TRACE
Magazine, September 2007With Their Rebel Mantra, Art Hijack Finds a Muse in the Devil Iinside
– Steven Psyllos
Art Hijack is a conceptual art collective created by Trong Nguyen and Elana Rubinfeld, two art world tricksters who have made it their business to challenge the capital-A art world snobbery. The story of their collaboration is a seemingly never-ending journey into their imaginations, and is only fully understood after sharing a drink or two with these colorful personalities.
Trong and Elana met in 2004 and immediately got along, solidifying their bond during a road trip to Art Basel Miami Beach – he had the tickets, she had the wheels. The duo soon realized that with their shared talents, they could probably take over the world. They formed Art Hijack initially as a public relations and consulting firm focused on the visual arts. But one thing led to another and their circle of insanity began to spin. Their first project was an exhibition at the Roger Smith Hotel in New York featuring the art collection of Rick Haatj (an anagram of Art Hijack). They conceptualized the show to spotlight famous works that have, through the years, been stolen. Trong and Elana painted replicas of these works and the two put on a straight face to the world, hiding behind a seamless press release and mysterious (and fictitious) power collector. Art Hijack was then invited to Art LA to exhibit the collection, where half of the works displayed were sold. Yes, sold! Next stop, the Istanbul Biennial.
Throughout their collaboration, the two have created several projects that represent their unending devilish humor, the most recent being the “firing” of one another and hiring of their subsequent replacements: Renee Vara and Eric Doeringer, titled “Art Hijack 2.0.” And, of course, the interviewing process was filmed and exhibited. “Being an artist, you might as well turn everything into a project,” said Trong. “We are basically out of the picture now, because we want to be stress-free.” Yet they will still be performing several Art Hijack pieces in Montreal and New York and Trong will still be the painter behind the Rick Haatj collection, so how can anyone trust these two?
Separately, Trong and Elana are each primarily artists with other art world tie-ins. Trong is an emerging superstar curator leading Greenpoint Brooklyn’s gallery scene with his always on-point New General Catalog. Elana’s resume is rock solid, having worked everywhere from PS1 museum to the public relations firm Blue Medium, acting as an artist’s assistant to a major art dealer’s associate. Their fingerprints are everywhere, but what will their next crime be? The two won’t budge. For now, they are hoping that the next generation of Art Hijack makes them proud. “We are emeritus members of this group and we are handing over everything we have: our website, our cards, our stamps, our projects, our resume, our credentials,” says Elana.
“Three years worth of exhibitions, three years worth of connections,” adds Trong. “I’m excited to see what their first project will be, because we’ve basically thrown together two people who don’t really know each other.” Another interesting and devious project from Art Hijack – let’s see how it turns out.