Tobias Spichtig: Fridges & Mind Again

SALTS presents the solo show Fridges & Mind Again of Tobias Spichtig, whose non-conformist aesthetics offer a very strong signal-to-noise ratio within a changing art system.

Spichtig’s large-scale paintings and room-spanning sculptures relay the image-world of his network—the art/music scenes with which he’s deeply involved—fusing it to the art historically significant forms while understanding painting as an original aggregator/screen. As art now lives a double life in virtual space, the question arises as to what gives it power not just as a physical work but also as image? Afterall, while a painting’s value cannot rest on image alone, a work’s “success” in today’s image economy is often correlated to its dispersion and reach. Of course, art history has always valued the memetic potential of art—from sculptural tropes of antiquity to the drawings of Tom of Finland. At present the stakes seem particularly high.