Bettina, Patricia L. Boyd, Matt Browning, René Heyvaert, Lucina Lane, Anna Oppermann, Steven Warwick, Marina Xenofontos
23.10.24 – 21.12.24
Text
It all begins with an apartment and some of my frustrations with feeling captive by the limitations of a few square meters. It’s in these situations that common sense might lead one to an awareness that form is as much a subjective limitation as it is a physical one. For example, we know well that Modernist architecture often aspired to make us think and act in ideal ways, but the feelings of alienation, despair, or boredom are its melancholic symptoms—its obverse, unintended affects. Lauren Berlant succinctly summed this up with what she calls cruel optimism:
A relation of cruel optimism exists when something you desire is actually an obstacle to your flourishing. It might involve food, or a kind of love; it might be a fantasy of the good life, or a political project. It might rest on something simpler, too, like a new habit that promises to induce in you an improved way of being. These kinds of optimistic relations are not inherently cruel. They become cruel only when the object that draws your attachment actively impedes the aim that brought you to it initially.
This is often how I feel about the problems of housing. But beyond that, what I am trying to say is that intention, or indeed desire, does not necessarily lead to satisfying our wants or needs. More practically, in this context of looking at art in an apartment, it’s part of staging a broader question concerning art’s ability to sew in some doubt to the habitual, or what we take for granted in our most private of settings. Still, that’s an optimistic view on art, which I often feel is doomed to the more passive functionality of decor.
— Nicholas Tammens
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René Heyvaert, Untitled, 1983-84, Wallpaper, glue, 33 x 33 cm. Courtesy of the Estate of René Heyvaert and Lodovico Corsini, Brussels
Matt Browning, Bones, 2024, Carved American holly, 54 x 5 x 4.5 cm. Courtesy of the artist
Matt Browning, Bones, 2024, Carved American holly, 54 x 5 x 4.5 cm. Courtesy of the artist
Anna Oppermann, Sitzender Frauentorso mit Spiegel, 1965, Colored crayon and ink on paper, 35.5 x 31.2 cm. Courtesy of the Estate of Anna Oppermann and Galerie Barbara Thumm, Berlin
Anna Oppermann, Sitzender Frauentorso mit Spiegel, 1965, Colored crayon and ink on paper, 35.5 x 31.2 cm. Courtesy of the Estate of Anna Oppermann and Galerie Barbara Thumm, Berlin
Steven Warwick, HOUSE, 2024, Plastic model house, audio, text on paper, plinth, Dimensions variable, Edition of 3 + 1 AP. Courtesy of the artist
Steven Warwick, HOUSE, 2024, Plastic model house, audio, text on paper, plinth, Dimensions variable, Edition of 3 + 1 AP. Courtesy of the artist
Anna Oppermann, Untitled, 1966, Pencil and coloured crayon on paper framed, 29.6 x 21 cm. Courtesy of the Estate of Anna Oppermann and Galerie Barbara Thumm, Berlin
Anna Oppermann, Untitled, 1966, Pencil and coloured crayon on paper framed, 29.6 x 21 cm. Courtesy of the Estate of Anna Oppermann and Galerie Barbara Thumm, Berlin
Anna Oppermann, Untitled, undated [ca 1970s], Pencil and colored crayon on paper, 60 x 65.8 cm. Courtesy of the Estate of Anna Oppermann and Galerie Barbara Thumm, Berlin
Anna Oppermann, Untitled, undated [ca 1970s], Pencil and colored crayon on paper, 60 x 65.8 cm. Courtesy of the Estate of Anna Oppermann and Galerie Barbara Thumm, Berlin
René Heyvaert, Untitled, 1983-84, Vinyl wallpaper (4 elements), 104 x 104 cm. Courtesy of the Estate of René Heyvaert and Lodovico Corsini, Brussels
René Heyvaert, Untitled, 1983-84, Vinyl wallpaper (4 elements), 104 x 104 cm. Courtesy of the Estate of René Heyvaert and Lodovico Corsini, Brussels
René Heyvaert, Untitled (detail), 1983-84, Vinyl wallpaper (4 elements), 104 x 104 cm. Courtesy of the Estate of René Heyvaert and Lodovico Corsini, Brussels
Marina Xenofontos, Underpass Descent, 2024, Photo transfer on zinc etching plate, mdf wood perspective construction, 71.5 x 136.5 x 44.5 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Hot Wheels Athens London
Marina Xenofontos, Underpass Descent (detail), 2024, Photo transfer on zinc etching plate, mdf wood perspective construction, 71.5 x 136.5 x 44.5 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Hot Wheels Athens London
Marina Xenofontos, Underpass Descent, 2024, Photo transfer on zinc etching plate, mdf wood perspective construction, 71.5 x 136.5 x 44.5 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Hot Wheels Athens London
Marina Xenofontos, Underpass Descent, 2024, Photo transfer on zinc etching plate, mdf wood perspective construction, 71.5 x 136.5 x 44.5 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Hot Wheels Athens London
Bettina, Phenomenological New York, 1972-86, C-prints (printed and mounted by Bettina), 36.5 x 14 cm. Courtesy of the Estate of Bettina and Ulrik, New York City
Bettina, Phenomenological New York, 1972-86, C-prints (printed and mounted by Bettina), 36.5 x 14 cm. Courtesy of the Estate of Bettina and Ulrik, New York City
Bettina, Phenomenological New York, 1972-86, C-prints (printed and mounted by Bettina), 36.5 x 14 cm. Courtesy of the Estate of Bettina and Ulrik, New York City
Bettina, Phenomenological New York, 1972-86, C-prints (printed and mounted by Bettina), 36.5 x 14 cm. Courtesy of the Estate of Bettina and Ulrik, New York City
Lucina Lane, what gives you energy, 2021, Steel, banksia, 29 x 35 x 10 cm. Courtesy of the artist
Lucina Lane, what gives you energy, 2021, Steel, banksia, 29 x 35 x 10 cm. Courtesy of the artist
Patricia L. Boyd, Bed unmaking, 2024, Mattress protector, prints, glass, 130 x 188 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Christian Andersen, Copenhagen
Patricia L. Boyd, Bed unmaking (detail), 2024, Mattress protector, prints, glass, 130 x 188 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Christian Andersen, Copenhagen
Patricia L. Boyd, Bed unmaking (detail), 2024, Mattress protector, prints, glass, 130 x 188 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Christian Andersen, Copenhagen
Patricia L. Boyd, Bed unmaking (detail), 2024, Mattress protector, prints, glass, 130 x 188 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Christian Andersen, Copenhagen
Anna Oppermann, Einzelleinwand (aus dem Ensemble „Aggression – Arrangement mit dem Messer“), 1971 - 1978, Photo emulsion on canvas, hand-coloured, 80.5 x 60 cm. Courtesy of the Estate of Anna Oppermann and Galerie Barbara Thumm, Berlin
Anna Oppermann, Einzelleinwand (aus dem Ensemble „Aggression – Arrangement mit dem Messer“), 1971 - 1978, Photo emulsion on canvas, hand-coloured, 80.5 x 60 cm. Courtesy of the Estate of Anna Oppermann and Galerie Barbara Thumm, Berlin
Anna Oppermann, Einzelleinwand (aus dem Ensemble „Aggression – Arrangement mit dem Messer“), 1971 - 1978, Photo emulsion on canvas, hand-coloured, 60 x 75 cm. Courtesy of the Estate of Anna Oppermann and Galerie Barbara Thumm, Berlin
Anna Oppermann, Einzelleinwand (aus dem Ensemble „Aggression – Arrangement mit dem Messer“), 1971 - 1978, Photo emulsion on canvas, hand-coloured, 60 x 75 cm. Courtesy of the Estate of Anna Oppermann and Galerie Barbara Thumm, Berlin
Anna Oppermann, Untitled, undated [ca 1970s], Pencil and colored crayon on paper, 60 x 65.8 cm. Courtesy of the Estate of Anna Oppermann and Galerie Barbara Thumm, Berlin
Anna Oppermann, Untitled, undated [ca 1970s], Pencil and colored crayon on paper, 60 x 65.8 cm. Courtesy of the Estate of Anna Oppermann and Galerie Barbara Thumm, Berlin
Lucina Lane, get yr life back, 2024, Brass, steel, eucalyptus, 46.5 x 41 x 10 cm. Courtesy of the artist
Lucina Lane, get yr life back, 2024, Brass, steel, eucalyptus, 46.5 x 41 x 10 cm. Courtesy of the artist