Condo London 2019: Emalin hosting Galerie Emanuel Layr and Galerie Barbara Weiss

Artists: Megan Plunkett, Gaylen Gerber, Puppies Puppies

Exhibition title: Condo London 2019: Emalin hosting Galerie Emanuel Layr and Galerie Barbara Weiss

Venue: Emalin, London, UK

Date: January 12 – February 9, 2019

Photography: all images copyright and courtesy of the artists, Emalin, Galerie Emanuel Layr and Galerie Barbara Weiss

I was asked to write something for this exhibition, maybe because my work in this situation feels like an empty support or ground for another expression. Of course, that’s true, but it also brought to mind our uncomfortable relationship with change and how we often respond to it without entertaining the possibility that art can reflect that experience – one that’s constantly shifting – even offering solace and a sense of completion in its absences. While Puppies Puppies and I have known each other for some time, I wasn’t familiar with Megan’s work until this project, which makes writing about this exhibition more difficult, with the exception that sometimes things belong together even when they don’t seem to fit. That seems like a reasonable description of the exhibition. The way all of us tend to read things as related even when they could just as easily be understood as unrelated, often jumping to associations and undermining them simultaneously, all the while sharing mixed feelings about recognizing the complete, the incomplete, and the elation and disappointment that are part and parcel of experience. This exhibition does something close to that, and maybe with a bit of humor too.

Megan Plunkett (b. 1985 in Pasadena, CA, USA) lives and works in Los Angeles. She completed her MFA at the Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts, Bard College, in 2017. Selected exhibitions include Plus One, with John Miller, Shoot the Lobster (New York, NY, USA. 2018); Me as a dog, Who Hit John Bar (Vilnius, Lithuania, 2018); Caisson, Diver, Charmer, Commercial Street at Jenny’s (Los Angeles, CA, USA. 2018); Live Rust, Not Right, Long As I Can See, Bad

Reputation (Los Angeles, CA, USA. 2017); I Bet You Wish You Did And I Know I Do, Emalin (London, UK. 2017); New Human Agenda, And Now (Dallas, TX, USA. 2017); Tar Pits, Redling Fine Art (Los Angeles, CA, USA. 2017); The Garden of Forking Paths, curated by Adam Marnie at Magenta Plains (New York, NY, USA. 2017).

Gaylen Gerber (American, b. 1955) has exhibited widely, including projects at The Arts Club of Chicago (Chicago, IL, USA); Kunsthaus Bregenz (Bregenz, AU); The Whitney Museum of American Art (New York, NY, USA); Kunstverein Ruhr (Essen, DE); MUDAM – Museé d‘Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean (Luxembourg, LU); The Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago, UL, USA); Neues Museum Weserburg Bremen (Bremen, DE); Kunsthalle Bern (Bern, CH); and the Museé des Beaux-Arts (Dijon, FR), among others.

Puppies Puppies (American, b. 1989) has received widespread international recognition, with solo exhibitions in Paris, Rome, New York and LA in the past two years. Her work was included in the 9th Berlin Biennale as well as the Whitney Biennale in 2017. Puppies Puppies has an upcoming solo exhibition at Halle für Kunst, Lüneburg.

Installation View, Condo 2019, Emalin presenting works by Megan Plunkett, hosting Emanuel Layr with works by Gaylen Gerber and Galerie Barbara Weiss with works by Puppies Puppies, Photo by Plastiques. Courtesy of Emalin Ltd, London

Puppies Puppies, Aircraft emergency oxygen system (“In the event of emergency, put your oxygen mask on first.”), 2018, oxygen masks, dimensions variable, Photo by Plastiques. Courtesy of Galerie Barbara Weiss and Puppies Puppies

Puppies Puppies, Eggs in pantyhose (Yama Chaahan’s reversed egg), 2018, pantyhose, eggs, dimensions variable, Photo by Plastiques. Courtesy of Galerie Barbara Weiss and Puppies Puppies

Gaylen Gerber, Support, n.d., oil paint on mirror, Unmarked, United States, mirrored glass, gilt frame, 20th century, 58.5 × 47.5 × 4 cm, Photo by Plastiques. Courtesy of Galerie Emanuel Layr and Gaylen Gerber

Megan Plunkett, Good News/Dog News #1 12, digital print on glossy paper, 10 × 8 inches (25.40 × 20.32 cm), Photo by Plastiques. Courtesy of Emalin Ltd, London