A Conversation With Xuechen Wang
Revolving Narratives: Art, Technology & Human Identity
Stephen Neidich: Lost Mix Tapes
Wilding Cran Gallery, Los Angeles, US
Wilding Cran Gallery is currently hosting the exhibition “Lost Mix Tapes,” featuring recent works by Los Angeles-based artist Stephen Neidich. Departing from his recent focus on kinetic sculpture and installation, Neidich explores the potential of rusted steel Venetian blinds in this series—simultaneously emanating the beauty of the natural patina of Richard Serra’s steel sculptures and the never-ending ingenuity and possibilties of the objet trouvé in the tradition of Marcel Duchamp. In short, a must-visit show of a must-follow artist runs until January 6, 2024, at Wilding Cran Gallery.
The blinds, twisted and contorted through static interventions, evoke a sense of humor and familiarity associated with utilitarian dysfunction. The distressed steel has undergone further transformation due to a combination of chemical agents introduced by the artist and unseasonable Southern California rains. Born from chance, emotion, and experimentation, Neidich’s practice pushes the boundaries of his pieces, exploring the limits of their function and survival. The sculptures in “Lost Mix Tapes” present varied poses and contortions that playfully exaggerate the universally experienced technical failures of Venetian blinds. Neidich’s choreography of each piece creates a stage of characters, some delicately draped to the floor, others elegantly twisted in an off-kilter fiction, mirroring the absurdity of our attempts to control.
“While the sculptures’ varied poses and contortions may recall the effects of thwarted motion, Lost Mix Tapes pushes the button of natural movement, elevating the universally experienced technical failures of Venetian blinds through playfully exaggerated gestures. Neidich’s choreography of each piece sets a stage of characters, some tenderly toyed with, some draping delicately to the floor, some elegantly twisted in an off-kilter fiction, replicating the absurdity of our attempts to control. Upon encountering the series, we may be inspired to conjure fictive histories, from the pried open peep hole in All The Answers Are In That Book to the comedic vertical twist of We’re taking three cars. However, Neidich distances his work from narrative to focus on the ironic allure of each blind as an aesthetically constructed object.” (Press release Wilding Cran Gallery)
“Lost Mix Tapes” percolates a romantic nostalgia as viewers encounter objects whose function and technology have become obsolete. The exhibition invites reflection on the relationship between the cassette tape and the decommissioned Venetian blind, both serving as physical markers of emotion and the passage of time. Neidich’s sculptures, despite their curated machination, capture the performative grace of inert objects, emphasizing their heightened futility and inviting interpretation of their dysfunctional elegance.
For more information and further inquiries, please visit Wilding Cran Gallery’s website here.
Last Updated on November 24, 2023
Maxime Foucquet
Maxim Foucquet is a curator, art critic, and contemporary artist residing and working in Belgium.
Read more from this author archive →
