Ryan Gander: The day I first met an Aurefilian
@ The Art Institute of Chicago
111 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60603
Opening Thursday, April 1st, from 6PM - 7:30PM
Working within the tradition of conceptual art, Ryan Gander’s multifaceted practice interweaves factual and fictional narrative elements and a wide range of references that encompass early Modernism, architecture, popular culture, art history, design, and children’s literature. Gander’s varied output has included an installation of crystal balls laser etched with the image of a falling sheet of paper, a children’s book that tells the story of a boy who witnesses British modernist architect Ernö Goldfinger build the Trellick Tower, and a fabricated pop band comprised of only a name and promotional materials. Balancing self-reflexivity and humor his installations at times appear purposely incomplete. For example, What the Postman Brought, 2007, consists of two nails, an empty bookstand, a vacant frame, and a wall text that refers to missing objects—documents from the unpublished writings of the Irish comedian Spike Milligan, a copy of The Adventures of the Black Hand Gang by Hans Jürgen Press, and a painting by Mark Tansey. Leaving clues for the viewer to piece together, Gander’s work blends cultural and fictive references in a lighthearted play on compositional structure and fragmented comprehension.
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