Condo is back for another year and we took ventured out this week to the East End galleries to see what it had to offer.
Kate MacGary was dull. Selection of boring wall-based works with a one bizarre little sculpture of a person sat on plinth. Enjoyed more as a novelty than as something genuinely thought-provoking.
Emalin felt very considered; definitely a well curated show. We always enjoy when works interact (not essential but if it works then go for it!). Support structures as artworks in their own right is also something we really like to see.
Union Pacific was another boring selection of lifeless wall-based works. However, it was fun to see Hans-Christian Lotz use as cross section of those modular aluminium poles.
Modern Art was actually better than expected; Charlotte Posenenske had made a big cardboard vent that looked as if it was crawling over the floor like a snake. Nicolas Deshayes also has a show there downstairs and the objects are absolutely beautiful! Formally they seem to reference sinks or baths (perhaps also due to them all being ceramics) and then the glazes on them really make them pop out. not something we want for our own practice but certainly wouldn’t say no to having one on the wall.
The Approach had some lovely pairings of images and framed silicone works by Vanessa Safavi. Having two different objects as one work makes one compare and contrast between them much more than usual.
Maureen Paley was some very uninteresting paintings of houses.
Herald Street was truly awful; gyroscope drawings, infantile hippy paintings, and terrible figurative sculptures.
Carlos Ishikawa was alright. Nice to see a poetic press release and especially one that related to the theme of movement and dance so well. The motion drawings are a fairly well trodden path by now but the film of the hands was subtle and considerate.
Although not part of Condo, Piper Keys had by far the best exhibition we saw. Sung Tieu has installed two dining table units one might see in a park or a school canteen, very sterile, cold and devoid of any character. Across their stainless steel surfaces empty food containers have been left, suggesting they have been recently used. Ambient sound hovers in the room. Composed from field recordings and audio libraries, the noise of kitchen alarms, gates slamming and neon lights flickering have been built in to a single dissonant rhythm that eventually transitions into a melody. Images move across a stainless-steel encased TV screen. The images, like the field recordings, are observational. It was such a great feeling to be inside this constructed environment, a whirlwind of things happening.
