Gina Fischli / Mike Kelley

The two artists in this exhibition are on an aesthetic journey that embraces the concept of disgust, challenging established hierarchies of values. One artist expresses this disgust through excess and defilement, while the other does so through a kind of playful but awkward frivolity. They both present excess and waste in ritualized forms.

Through their unconventional approaches, they expose viewers to devalued myths, a sense of decline, and uncertain futures, leaving us to view the world through a lens of profound disillusionment, akin to the aftermath of a heavy hangover.

Kelley desacralizes the spiritual intent of abstract art, emphasizing physicality over the mind, with a focus on libidinal and Dionysian energy rather than intellectual aesthetics. Kelley‘s work challenges Western metaphysics, using symbols and information to explore the concepts of sublimation and desublimation.

Gina Fischli, playfully mocks an aristocracy she sees as hiding its guilt and flaws behind ornate facades. Her sculptures resemble castles and pastries that symbolize this pretentiousness. These creations suggest that beneath the surface, there are concealed conflicts and dark secrets.  Her work can be compared to Brecht‘s ideas about distinguishing between “noble art” and amateurism, particularly when it comes to culinary art. Her pieces convey a sense of exhaustion and hidden challenges, leaving viewers to navigate a world of both delight and disappointment, trust and disenchantment, like a mischievous adventure of their own.