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Making Matthew Barney seem sober, the YBAs subdued. We see the surrealism in theatricality stemming from, say, the carnivalesque sludge biomes vitrines of Max Hooper Schneider, Ajay Kurian, or Anicka Yi; embalmed trash of Yuji Agematsu; the Ikea jungle of Rashid Johnson; the faux/real haystacks Amy Yao, even the steaming shirt of Michael E Smith. I guess they were all stealing from Thek who stole from... who stole from.. , so maybe it is acceptable, maybe they're all friends. But the theatricality has been jacked to new heights, torn from a Chuck E Cheese. But the one thing we're maybe all growing tired of is the apocalypse presented to us in iPhone styles, the fetishization of our new trendbook, like its inevitable and your the first person to try and ride the wave of our demise by selling it back to us.
see too:“May the Bridges I Burn Light the Way” at STANDARD (OSLO), Max Hooper Schneider at High Art, Ajay Kurian at White Flag Projects, Kahlil Robert Irving at Callicoon Fine Arts, Ajay Kurian at Rowhouse Project, Amy Yao at Various Small Fires, Anicka Yi at Cleveland Museum of Art Chadwick Rantanen at Essex Street, Michael E. Smith at Sculpture Center, Michael E. Smith at Michael Benevento, Michael E. Smith at Zero, Michael E. Smith at Lulu, Michael E. Smith at Susanne Hilberry, Amy Yao at Various Small Fires, Anicka Yi at Cleveland Museum of Art