V1 Gallery presents
EYESORE
A group exhibition featuring:
Doug Fishbone (US), Erwin Wurm (AU), Graham Hudson (US), Hesselholdt & Mejlvang (DK), Jakob Boeskov (DK), Jenny Holzer (US), Jes Brinch (DK), Joachim Cossais (NO), Jocelyn Shipley (US), Joe Bradley (US), Johannes Hinriksson (IS), Mads Lynnerup (DK), Matthew Stone (UK), Rory Macbeth (UK), Sara Braman (US) and Shane Bradford (UK)
Opening day: January 11th 2008. From 16.00-22.00
Exhibition period: January 11th - February 9th 2008
V1 Gallery proudly presents EYESORE - a group exhibition with 16 select artists from the US, UK and Scandinavia. The exhibition is also the opening of V1 Gallery-s new location in Copenhagen's meatpacking district, Kødbyen.
Irritation is like a pebble in the shoe. But the pebble keeps you on your toes. EYESORE is a reminder to enjoy your doubts while you have them. And it's a celebration of the innovative and groundbreaking artists who aren't afraid to ask questions in a time full of answers. Simple solutions and obstinate opinions make way for question marks, turbulence and grey areas.
In her Inflammatory Essays legendary artist Jenny Holzer scolds an unknown subject whilst her aggressive sentences that attack the wall like colourful bursts leave one feeling confused. Are you to take her volley seriously or are the essays sarcastic and playful? And are they targeted at a friend, foe, society or perhaps the viewer? Equally perplexing is the Danish-American artist Mads Lynnerup's poster campaign, which consists of just one sentence: 'If you see something interesting please let someone know immediately!' But what should you look for? Art or terror (as in the New York subway campaign: 'If you see something, say something')? And who do you turn to if you do see something? And what if there is nothing interesting to tell - is that good or bad?
Insecurity is also alive and thriving in Hesselholdt&Mejlvang's great installation Don't let 'em see the white of your eyes which only allows insight through gun slits. The unknown inhabitant has forsaken the chaotic world and now lives in enclosure where militant order reigns. Doug Fishbone, who was recently named Rising Star by Evening Standard, also seeks to create coherence in a chaotic world - but this is a coherence which keeps the viewer paralysed with fear so that Doug can make a dime. In his video It's not you, It's me Doug exploits people's need for easy solutions by bombarding the viewer with heavily charged pictures and a highly convincing Doug Fishbone urging the viewer to donate money for the sake of the children. Order is integrated in Erwin Wurms hotel rooms too, but the neatness is useless: the chair balances on the mattress which rests on the table that sinks into the tidy bed. The furniture has lost its function and the systematic array leaves no room for the occupant.
The meticulous order is in Graham Hudsons grandiose tribute to art and the universe, Nocturn, replaced by cosmic chaos (made out of down-to-earth materials such as a stained bin bag, a fan, a light bulb and a bucket). Rory Macbeth's bible is not much help either he has arranged the words so they are now in alphabetical order. And the guiding spirits are in Johannes Hinriksson's works literally bottles of spirit with names like Spirit (Jack Daniels) and Spirit (Ballantine's Green). Comfort turns into confusion and hangover making it easy to get lost and stumble - not least in Shane Bradford's Rommel's Spargel, which is a colourful homage to the famous German warlord General Rommel and his barbed-wire entanglement.
There are no easy answers but a lot of tough questions. In modern art and in life in general. However this is better than the alternative. We need to sleep on a pea once in a while so we don't turn into sleeping beauties.
EYESORE is curated by Jesper Elg and Nanna Thylstrup.
