The Thousands

Like most art things worth talking about, you can draw a line from Duchamp straight through to Masato Takasaka‘s work at Gertrude Contemporary. Duchamp’s Boîte-en-valise to be precise. They seem to be asking if all the art is in the thing then is the thing art too? And what in the Sam Hill is the gallery for, if the art is already in the thing? Masato describes his Masatoectures as “prog rock sculpture from the 5th dimension”. He will be reworking and reconfiguring older work in this pseudo-retrospective, riffing on the architectural maquette, the pop culture reference and “listening to Deleuze on lead Guattari.” It’s the only post-formalist sculpture out there which you can throw the sign of the horns at.

Tom Polo is one anxious dude. Though with work titled ‘DISAPPOINTED WITH MANY PEOPLE AND THINGS (Fallen Banner)’, ‘Shit/Head’ and ‘Disappointed With Everything (It Happens)’ that’s not especially surprising. He’ll “explore the wall painting as a performance of working and re-working of a problem”, using the presentational nature of the Gertrude front gallery to continually work and re-work a piece like a crazy person who’s never happy with anything. Never giving the audience the satisfaction of laying eyes on a ‘finished’ work.