Bourgeois Problems responds to the current economic climate (and those of recessions past) through humorous, cynical, flashy and sharp commentary. The work included in this show is a cathartic, therapeutic, and at times diagrammatic reflection of modern problems as well as literal and figurative forms of depression. Works by Nancy Buchanan, Nikhil Murthy, Jeff Ostergren, Margie Schnibbe.
Curated by Catherine Taft
François Ghebaly Gallery is pleased to present Bourgeois Problems, a group show
curated by critic and curator Catherine Taft, with work by Los Angeles-based artists
Nancy Buchanan, Nikhil Murthy, and Margie Schnibbe, and New Haven-based Jeff
Ostergren.
Bourgeois Problems responds to the current economic climate (and those of recessions
past) through humorous, cynical, flashy and sharp commentary. The work included in
this show is a cathartic, therapeutic, and at times diagrammatic reflection of modern
problems as well as literal and figurative forms of depression. The simple, diaristic
drawings of Margie Schnibbe, for example, reveal both the flux of inner thoughts and
anxieties and the concrete accounting of daily life.
Similar to Schnibbeʼs “figurative”
drawings, Nancy Buchananʼs untitled embroideries decoratively record economic
fluctuations and statistics and, in a characteristically capitalist conceptual move, the
completion of these pieces was partially out-sourced to Haitian artist, Louise Evlyne
Chapentier. Nikhil Murthy also takes a formal approach toward statistics, translating the
data from our recent market crash into the editing pattern of his video, which splices
together car crash footage from a big budget indy movie “Redline” (2007) with train crash
footage from Buster Keatonʼs 1926 silent film “The General.” The work of Jeff
Ostergren, on the other hand, appropriates advertisements for luxury goods,
pharmaceuticals, and fiscal services to produce a dizzying and vivid mass market
onslaught.
For further information, please contact the gallery at info@ghebaly.com
Opening Reception Saturday, June 19, 2010, 7pm
Francois Ghebaly Gallery
510 Bernard Street 23, Los Angeles USA
Open hours: Wednesday-Sunday Noon-6
By Appointment Only