黑料不打烊

This show assembles a group of artworks that evoke a particular feeling of lonely listlessness, embedded with the faint glimmer of hope that the idea of improvement might be possible. Laying in the gutter, but staring at the stars. Straining to see into the distance. The reaction to this arrested position of something potentially better just out of reach hovers between thoughtful reverie, heartbroken nostalgia, and helpless sloth. But with an increasingly gnawing discontent under the skin comes a more pressing and fevered need for an undefined change.

Robert Barry鈥檚 diptych simply states 鈥淚ncomplete鈥�, ambiguously a possible question or a declaration, but in either case prompts the inquiry of what then is missing, and can it ever be known or achieved. Jeffrey Gibson鈥檚 mostly black adorned punching bag has its title beaded on its surface: 鈥淚鈥檓 Not Perfect鈥�. This brooding yet elegant work suggests a sadness, yet acceptance of limitations; it shows a determination, a confidence in itself against the odds. Zlatan Vehabovi膰鈥檚 painting of a beached whale is a moment of utter loneliness and helplessness, the creature, the protagonist we connect to, clinging to its last moments. VALIE EXPORT鈥檚 collage of images mixing the faces of Salzburg nurses with the hospital buildings they work in is an examination of the limits of their identity, are they defined only by their profession? Marc Bijl鈥檚 corroded silver surfaced painting has a bronze plate affixed 鈥� 鈥淕agosian鈥�, the sign plate of the gallery which the artist filched. Is the painting good enough without the imprimatur of the vaunted gallery? In Diana Shpungin鈥檚 sculpture, 鈥淎 Failure of Memory鈥� crumpled pieces of paper, overly saturated with graphite, spill from a gauzed and bandaged trash can. Whatever thoughts or memories that might have been recorded are obliterated, only the fact that they once existed and the wounds they may have inflicted remain.