Darren Bader. more or less

About

In a series of installations, videos, and texts, Bader extends his use of the found object as a literal and conceptual fulcrum – deploying it as absurdist intervention and index of mundane reality. In the main gallery, he and artist Anca Munteanu Rimnic create a large-scale arrangement comprising both their own works and a wide assortment of stuff, including works by other artists. This giant walk-in ‘still life’ invites visitors to determine what is and what isn't an artwork, in some instances following numerical combinations stipulated by Bader. Throughout his latest works, Bader plays upon the dynamic between artist, artwork, and viewer – foregrounding the role of the viewer or buyer in making meaning. A number of the ‘works’ in the exhibition comprise proposals for unrealised – perhaps unrealisable – artworks. These include models or blueprints for ‘trash sculptures’, an ongoing series in which Bader creates or selects a sculptural form as a rubbish container.